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THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  CONSTITUTED  AND  CHARGED  TO  CONVEY 
THE   GOSPEL    TO    THE    WORLD. 

BY    THE 


REV.  JOHN  HARRIS,  D.  D., 

AUTHOR    OF    "  MAMMON,"    "  THE    GREAT    TEACHER,"    ETC. 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY, 


REV.  WILLIAM    R.  WILLIAMS,  D.  D. 


jHftl)   ar&ousanfc 


BOSTON: 
GOULD,   KENDALL,   AND    LINCOLN, 

59WASHINGTON    STREET. 

1846. 


Hz 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1842, 

By  Gould,  Kendall,  and  Lincoln, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


STEREOTYPED  AT  THE 
BOSTON  TYPE  AND  STEREOTYPE  FOUNDRY. 


PREFATORY  NOTICE 


THE    ADJUDICATORS 


To  the  mind  of  the  Christian  philanthropist  no  subject  can  pos- 
sess a  deeper  interest  than  the  state  and  prospects  of  the  world  in 
relation  to  the  gospel  of  Christ;  its  state,  as  presenting,  in  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  so  painfully 
mysterious  an  extent  of  ignorance,  ungodliness,  and  misery;  its 
prospects,  as  assured,  by  the  promises  of  the  God  of  truth  and 
mercy,  of  an  approaching  period  of  universal  knowledge,  love,  purity, 
and  happiness.  Estimating  the  value  of  means  by  the  value  of  the 
end  to  which  they  are  subservient,  the  subject  of  missions  to  the 
heathen,  for  the  subversion  of  false  religions  by  the  diffusion  and 
divine  power  of  the  true,  cannot  fail  to  hold  a  place  preeminently 
high,  in  the  minds  of  all  who  fear  God,  love  the  Savior,  and  desire 
the  good  of  their  race. 

Influenced  by  such  convictions  and  feelings,  "  a  few  friends  of  the 
missionary  enterprise  in  Scotland,"  connected  with  the  Scottish 
Establishment,  but  modestly  concealing  their  names,  formed  the  pur- 
pose, between  three  and  four  years  ago,  of  attempting  the  infusion  of 
fresh  spirit  into  the  benevolent  exertions  of  the  Christian  church  at 
large,  for  the  speedier  evangelization  of  the  world,  by  inviting  a 
"  friendly  competition  "  of  talent  and  piety,  in  the  production  of  a 
work  less  ephemeral  than  "  the  many  excellent  sermons,  tracts,  and 


4  PREFATORY   NOTICE   BY   THE   ADJUDICATORS. 

pamphlets,  which,  during  the  last  forty  years,  have  appeared  on  the 
subject  of  missions  to  the  heathen."  With  this  view,  these  un- 
known philanthropists  offered  a  prize  of  Two  Hundred  Guineas 
for  the  best,  and  another  prize  of  Fifty  Guineas  for  the  second 
best,  Essay  on  The  Duty,  Privilege,  and  Encouragement  of 
Christians  to  send  the  Gospel  of  Salvation  to  the  unen- 
lightened Nations  of  the  Earth.  The  competition  was  under- 
stood to  be  confined  within  the  limits  of  the  United  Kingdom.  The 
extension  of  it  to  America  was  subsequently  suggested ;  but  the  sug- 
gestion, by  whatever  considerations  recommended,  came  too  late  to 
admit  of  its  being  honorably  adopted. 

The  proposals  issued  were  commended  to  public  notice  and  Chris- 
tian interest  by  the  signatures  of  three  eminent  ministers  of  the  Es- 
tablished Church  of  Scotland  —  of  whom  one  has  since  gone  hence 
to  receive  the  reward  of  a  faithful  servant  —  the  Rev.  Dr.  Chalmers, 
the  late  Rev.  Dr.  M'Gill,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Duff.  The  Essays  (with 
the  usual  precautions  for  the  concealment  of  the  writers'  names) 
were  to  be  submitted  to  the  examination  of/we  adjudicators,  selected, 
on  a  principle  of  honorable  liberality,  from  those  bodies  of  Chris- 
tians with  which  stood  associated  the  principal  Missionary  Institu- 
tions, —  the  two  Established  Churches  of  Scotland  and  England,  the 
Wesley  an  Methodists,  the  Independents,  and  the  Baptists.  Forty-two 
Essays  were  received,  differing  very  widely  indeed  in  character  and 
claims,  from  some  of  an  inferior  order,  rising  through  higher  de- 
grees in  the  scale  of  merit,  to  a  considerable  number  of  sterling  ex- 
cellence. Between  several  of  these  the  Adjudicators  found  no  little 
difficulty  in  coming  to  a  decision;  nor  did  they  ultimately  arrive  at 
perfect  unanimity.  The  Essay  which  is  now  presented  to  the  public, 
the  production  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Harris,  of  Cheshunt  College, 
was,  after  hesitation  and  correspondence,  placed  first  by  four  Adjudi- 
cators out  of  the  five ;  and,  by  the  same  majority,  the  second  place 
was  assigned  to  the  Essay  which  has  found  for  its  claimant  the  Rev. 
Richard  Winter  Hamilton,  of  Leeds. 


PREFATORY  NOTICE  BY  THE  ADJUDICATORS.    5 

By  one  of  the  Adjudicators  the  first  place  was  given  to  a  different 
Essay  from  either  of  these ;  which  also,  in  the  judgment  of  more 
than  one  of  the  rest,  competed  strongly  for  the  second,  as  a  treatise 
of  great  excellence.  In  these  circumstances,  the  Committee,  de- 
sirous to  give  the  cause  every  possible  advantage,  resolved  on  offer- 
ing a  distinct  premium  to  its  author,  —  subsequently  discovered  to 
be  the  Rev.  John  Macfarlane,  minister  of  the  parish  of  Collessie, 
Fife  ;  and,  under  their  sanction,  with  the  generous  concurrence  of 
the  two  successful  competitors,  and  with  the  recommendation  of  such 
of  the  Adjudicators  as  felt  themselves  at  liberty  to  give  it,  this  Essay 
too  will  be  published. 

The  Adjudicators^  influenced  in  their  decision  by  the  sentiment, 
arrangement,  style,  and  comprehensiveness  of  the  Essays,  and  by 
their  general  adaptation  to  the  avowed  object  of  the  projectors  of  the 
prize,  have  given  that  decision  in  foro  constitution ;  and  they  now 
leave  it,  so  far  as  opportunity  for  judgment  is  afforded,  to  the  tribu- 
nal of  public  opinion.  They  consider  it  necessary,  at  the  same  time, 
to  add,  that  having  selected  the  Essays  which  appeared  to  them  the 
best,  they  are  by  no  means  to  be  understood  as,  either  collectively  or 
individually,  testifying  approval  of  every  view  of  opinion  of  their 
respective  Authors. 

An  apology  is  due,  especially  to  the  Essayists,  for  the  long,  and 
what  to  them  must  have  been  the  somewhat  vexatious  delay  on  the 
part  of  the  Adjudicators,  in  delivering  their  decision.  Such  apology 
they  deem  it  sufficient  thus  to  offer,  on  behalf  of  themselves,  and  of 
the  Committee,  without  attempting  any  detail  of  explanation,  how 
satisfactory  soever  such  detail  might  be  rendered. 

It  now  only  remains  that  they  breathe  a  united  and  fervent  prayer 

for  the  success  of  this  endeavor  to  advance  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 

happiness  and  salvation  of  men  ;  a  prayer  in  which  they  invite  their 

fellow-Christians  of  every  denomination  to  join,  —  that  the  present 

1* 


G 


PREFATORY   NOTICE    BY   THE   ADJUDICATORS. 


Essay,  as  well  as  such  others  as  may  pass  through  the  press,  may, 
under  the  providence  of  the  Divine  Head  of  the  Church,  contribute 
to  the  further  excitement  of  his  people's  zeal  in  this  highest  anil  best 
of  causes ;  and  so  may  accelerate  the  arrival  of  that  happy  period, 
when  his  own  gracious  and  faithful  assurance,  confirmed  with  his 
oath,  and  pregnant  with  so  vast  an  amount  of  blessing  to  mankind, 
shall  obtain  its  full  realization,  —  "As  surely  as  I  live,  all  the  earth 
shall  be  filled  with  my  glory." 


&*>y  /%&£'%&' 


3X&  ~* 


PREFACE. 


If  the  writer  may  be  allowed  to  engage  the  attention  of 
his  readers  for  a  moment  before  they  enter  on  the  perusal 
of  the  following  pages,  his  only  aim  in  so  doing  will  be  to 
facilitate  that  perusal. 

Of  course,  his  first  object  in  preparing  this  Essay  has 
been  to  comply  with  the  requirements  of  the  advertisement, 
which  has,  indirectly  at  least,  occasioned  its  existence.  His 
compliance  with  these,  however,  has  not  prevented  him 
from  aiming  at  a  point  higher  still ;  rather,  it  has  formed 
the  proper  and  natural  ascent  to  it.  That  aim,  he  trusts, 
has  imprinted  its  character,  more  or  less  visibly,  on  every 
portion  of  his  work.  He  would  briefly  describe  it  as  three- 
fold—  and  endeavor  to  show  that  the  church  of  Christ  is 
aggressive  and  missionary  in  its  very  constitution  and  de- 
sign:  its  "field  is  the  world;"  that  it  is  to  look  on  the 
whole  of  this  field  as  one ;  not  regarding  the  claims  of  any 
particular  portion  as  inimical  to  the  interests  of  any  other ; 
but  viewing  the  divine  command  which  obliges  it  to  seek 
the  salvation  of  any  one  individual,  or  the  evangelization 
of  any  one  country,  as  binding  it  to  attempt  the  recovery 
of  the  whole  world;  but  that,  in  order  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  high  design,  more  is  necessary  than  mere  ac- 


8  PREFACE. 

tivity;    that  the  entire  consecration  of  all    its  resources  is, 
for  obvious  reasons,  made  indispensable  to  success. 

With  this  view,  he  has  attempted  to  fill  up  the  following 
outline.  In  the  First  Part,  consisting  of  three  chapters, 
his  object  has  been  to  state  and  explain  the  Scripture  the- 
ory of  Christian  instrumentality;  to  show,  by  a  general  ex- 
amination of  the  Word  of  God,  that  this  theory  is  there 
prescribed  and  made  imperative ;  and  that  the  same  divine 
authority  predicts  and  promises  its  triumph  in  the  conver- 
sion of  the  world.  Thus,  if  the  first  chapter  states  the  plan 
by  which  all  the  holy  influences  of  the  past  should  have 
been  collected,  multiplied,  and  combined,  the  Second  ex- 
hibits and  enforces  the  obligation  of  the  present  to  that 
entire  consecration  which  the  plan  supposes ;  and  the  Third 
engages  that  such  consecration  shall  certainly  issue  in  the 
future  and  universal  erection  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 
Having  thus,  in  the  First  Part,  viewed  the  Missionary  Enter- 
prise, generally,  in  its  relations  to  the  Word  of  God,  the 
writer  has  proceeded,  in  the  Second  Part,  to  exhibit  the 
benefits  arising  from  Christian  Missions,  with  the  view  of 
still  further  illustrating  and  enforcing  their  claims.  This 
he  has  done  in  four  chapters ;  the  first  of  which  contains 
an  historical  sketch  of  the  diffusion  of  Christianity,  and 
of  the  rise  and  progress  of  Modern  Missions,  with  a  statisti- 
cal summary  of  their  present  state  ;  *  the  Second  enumerates 


*  Perhaps  the  reader,  unacquainted  with  the  fact,  ought  to  be  informed  that  the 
"  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,"  which  is  frequently  appealed  to  in  this  part  of  the 
work,  was  given  before  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  by  the  secretaries 
of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  the  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society,  and  London 
Missionary  Society,  and  by  other  competent  witnesses. 


PREFACE.  9 

the  leading  temporal  and  spiritual  benefits  accruing  to  the 
heathen  from  Missionary  operations;  the  Third  describes 
their  reflex  advantages,  temporal  and  spiritual ;  and  the 
Fourth  shows  that  the  History  and  Effects  of  the  Mission- 
ary Enterprise  illustrate  every  view  of  the  theory  of  Chris- 
tian influence  contained  in  the  First  Part,  and  supply  a 
powerful  inducement  to  the  increase  of  missionary  zeal. 
The  Third  Part  exhibits  the  various  sources  of  encourage- 
ment—  historical  and  political,  moral,  ecclesiastical,  and  evan- 
gelical—  which  urge  and  animate  Christians  to  advance  in 
their  missionary  career.  In  the  Fourth  Part,  he  has  endeav- 
ored to  show  that  every  objection  to  their  course  becomes, 
when  rightly  considered,  an  argument  to  redouble  their  efforts. 
But  the  Fifth  Part  ascertains  the  existence  of  a  great  defect 
—  of  the  want  of  that  entireness  of  consecration  to  their 
missionary  office  which  is  indispensable  to  complete  success, 
and  points  out  the  various  requisites  which  such  consecra- 
tion includes,  and  would  infallibly  supply.  While  the  Sixth 
Part  enforces  the  principal  Motives  which  should  induce 
their  entire  devotedness  to  the  great  objects  of  the  Mission- 
ary Enterprise. 

Such,  indeed,  is  the  surpassing  grandeur  of  the  object 
of  Christian  missions,  as  to  render  any  thing  like  justice 
to  its  merits  impossible.  Yet  the  writer  feels  humbled  that 
the  present  contribution  should  fall  so  far  short,  even  of 
his  own  conception,  of  what  such  a  work  might  and  ought 
to  be.  He  is  proportionally  delighted,  therefore,  that  since 
it  was  submitted  for  competent  adjudication,  so  many  able 
works  on  missions   should   have   issued   from   the   press  as 


10  PREFACE. 

to  render  specification  difficult ;  and  especially  that,  be- 
sides having  for  its  precursor  the  very  seasonable  and  pow- 
erful production  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Campbell,  it  should 
be  accompanied,  or  speedily  followed,  by  the  publications  of 
his  well-known,  able,  and  beloved  friend,  the  Rev.  R.  W. 
Hamilton,  of  Leeds ;  and  of  the  Rev.  John  M'Farlane. 

Evident  as  it  is  that  a  crisis  in  the  Missionary  Enterprise 
approaches  —  a  crisis  created  partly  by  its  successes  abroad, 
and  by  its  reflex  operation  in  calling  into  existence  other 
societies  at  home,  which  divide  with  it  the  contributions  of 
the  faithful  —  his  earnest  prayer  to  God  is,  that  this  Essay, 
in  connection  with  those  of  his  Christian  brethren  referred 
to,  may  be  among  the  means  employed  to  convert  that  crisis 
into  a  blessing — the  commencement  of  a  new  era  of  mis- 
sionary prosperity.  w 

Cheshunt  College, 
Feb.  12,  1842. 


. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

INTRODUCTION 17—36 


PART    I. 

THE     MISSIONARY     ENTERPRISE     VIEWED     GENERALLY     IN 
ITS    RELATION   TO    THE    WORD    OF    GOD. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE     SCRIPTURE     THEORY     OF    CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY     FOR 
THE    CONVERSION   OF    THE    WORLD    STATED   AND   EXPLAINED. 

I.  Mutual  dependence  and  influence  the  law  of  the  universe.  II.  Its  perversion 
by  sin.  III.  Its  restoration  by  Christ.  IV.  The  plan  of  its  operation  in  the 
Christian  church  for  the  recovery  of  the  world.  1.  How  it  begins  with  the 
individual  convert  — 2.  Proceeds  through  him  to  the  formation  of  a  particular 
church  — 3.  Leads  to  the  formation  of  other  churches,  and  unites  the  whole 
in  one  body  —  4.  The  Spirit  preceding  and  pervading  it  to  give  it  effect 

V.  In  this  organization,  every  thing  becomes  an  element  of  influence,  congenial 
with  the  cross,  and  subordinate  to  it. 

Knowledge — Speech  —  Relationships  —  Property  —  Self-denial  —  Compassion  —  Per- 
severance in  Christian  activity  —  Prayer — Union 37—74 


12  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER    II. 

THIS  THEORY  ILLUSTRATED  AND  ENFORCED  FROM  THE  PRECEPTS 
AND  EXAMPLES  OF  THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 

1.  From  the  paternal  character  of  the  antediluvian  economy — 2.  The  migratory 
character  of  the  Abrahamic  —3.  The  national  and  stationary  character  of  the 
Mosaic  —  4.  The  life  and  character  of  Christ  —  5.  The  agency  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  —  6.  The  commands  of  Christ,  director  implied  —  7.  The  first  mission- 
ary—  8.  The  first  missionary  church  —  9.  The  tenor  of  the  epistles  — 10.  Forms 
part  of  a  universal  plan,  which  includes  the  agency  of  angels  — 11.  And  which 
devolves  and  accumulates  all  the  moral  influences  of  the  church  from  age  to 
age 75-114 


CHAPTER    III. 
ILLUSTRATED   AND   ENFORCED   FROM  PROPHECY. 

1.  Does  prophecy  afford  any  glimpses  of  the  ultimate  results  of  such  instrumen- 
tality?—  2.  Will  the  final  triumph  of  Christianity  be  in  any  way  indebted  to 
such  agency?  —  3.  Circumstances  which  now  render  this  inquiry  peculiarly 
important  —  4.  Millenarianism  (as  popularly  understood)  unfriendly  to  mission- 
ary activity. 

I.  Millenarian  doctrine  at  variance  with  some  of  the  leading  principles  of  divine 

truth  —  1.  With  the  fact  that  divine  commands  imply  the  promise  of  aid  and 
success  —  2.  With  the  sincerity  of  the  divine  character  —  3.  With  the  divine 
benignity— 4.  With  the  ordinary  and  wise  reserve  of  Scripture  —  5.  And  is 
derogatory  to  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit. 

II.  Not  warranted  by  prophecy.    III.  The  enlargement  of  the  church  resulting 

from  Christian  activity.  IV.  This  view  corroborated  by  every  part  of  the 
Word  of  God  by  which  its  correctness  can  be  fairly  tested.  V.  The  whole 
harmonized  with  the  foregoing  parts,  and  applied 114—147 


CONTENTS. 


PART    II 


THE    BENEFITS    OF    THE    MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE    HISTORY   OF    CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS. 

I.  The  state  of  the  church  has  varied  in  proportion  as  it  has  been  faithful  or  other- 
wise to  its  missionary  design.  II.  Progress  of  Christianity  through  the  succes- 
sive ages  of  the  Christian  era  —  1.  Sixteenth  century,  or  reformation  within 
the  church — 2.  Seventeenth  century,  or  period  of  missionary  preparation  and 
promise  —  3.  Eighteenth  century,  or  period  of  missionary  association — 4.  Nine- 
teenth century,  or  period  of  missionary  enterprise. 

Ill  Events  which  may  be  regarded  as  dividing  the  brief  history  of  modern  missions 
into  epochs.    IV.  Statistical  summary 148 — 162 


CHAPTER    II. 

ADVANTAGES  OF  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE  TO  THE  HEATHENS. 


SECTION    I. 

TEMPORAL    BENEFITS. 

What  it  has  done  in  this  respect  for  the  various  nations  of  Christendom  —  1.  Some 
islands  owe  their  discovery  to  it  —  2.  Wandering  tribes  localized  —  3.  Taught 
useful  arts  and  trades  — 4.  Languages  reduced  to  a  written  form  — 5.  Educa- 
tion given  — 6.  Laws  and  government  instituted  —  7.  Morality  promoted  — 
8.  Checked  depopulation  and  prevented  extinction  —  9.  Mediated  between 
hostile  tribes,  and  prevented  sanguinary  conflicts  — 10.  Retrieved  their  slan- 
dered mental  character  — 11.  Protected  the  oppressed,  liberated  the  enslaved  — 
12.  Various  evils  blotted  out  — 13.  Elevating  effect  on  the  character  and  social 
rank  of  woman ;  general  views  of  temporal  benefits ;  benefits  unascertained 
greater  still 162—183 

2 


14  CONTENTS. 

SECTION    II. 

RELIGIOUS    BENEFITS.  ■* 

1.  Abolished  idolatry  — 2.  Imparted  Christian  instruction  —  3.  Alleviated  moral 
miseries  —  4.  Instrumentally  converted  and  saved  many  —  5.  Bibles;  ordi- 
nances :  churches  —  6.  Accessions  to  the  church  above 184—190 


CHAPTER    III. 


THE    REFLEX    BENEFITS    OF    CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS. 


SECTION   I. 

TEMPORAL    ADVANTAGES. 

These  afford  a  fine  illustration  of  the  remunerative  influence  of  benevolence — 
1.  Rendered  great  service  to  literature  and  science  —  2.  Corrected  and  enlarged 
our  views  of  the  character  and  condition  of  man  —  3.  Vindicated  our  own 
character  in  the  eyes  of  the  heathen  —  4.  Preserved  European  life  —  5.  Bene- 
fited our  commerce  —  6.  And  shipping 191 — 199 


SECTION    II. 

RELIGIOUS     BENEFITS. 

1.  Broke  up  the  prevailing  monotony  of  the  religious  community  —  2.  Enlivened  the 
piety  of  Christians,  and  increased  their  happiness  —  3.  Produced  denomina- 
tional emulation  among  them  —  4.  Led  to  the  formation  of  other  institutions  — 
5.  Taught  us  that  the  cause  of  religion,  abroad  and  at  home,  is  one  —  6.  Great- 
ly enlarged  our  Christian  views  —  7.  Promoted  sympathetic  union  of  Chris- 
tians—  8.  Increased  pecuniary  liberality  —  9.  Awakened  and  cherished  a  spirit 
of  prayer  — 10.  Produced  noble  specimens  of  Christian  character  — 11.  Shown 
us  the  practicability  of  the  missionary  enterprise,  and  impressed  us  with  our 
individual  obligation  to  espouse  it — 12.  Disarmed  infidelity  of  its  principal 
weapon — 13.  Promoted  biblical  study  —  increased  the  evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity—  and  deepened  our  confidence  in  the  divinity  of  its  character  and  the 
certainty  of  its  triumphs  — 14.  Been  the  means  of  converting  many  of  our 
countrymen  abroad  and  at  home  — 15.  And,  in  various  ways,  eminently  glo- 
rified God 200—221 


CONTENTS.  15 


CHAPTER    IV. 

ARGUMENT  DERIVED   FROM  THE   BENEFITS    OF   CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS 
FOR    THE    INCREASED   ACTIVITY    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

I.  Our  missionary  success  fully  proportioned  to  our  efforts.  II.  Advantages  have 
flowed  from  them  which  nothing  else  could  have  conferred.  III.  The  history 
of  modern  missions  illustrates  every  part  of  the  theory  of  Christian  influence. 
IV.  Supplies  a  powerful  motive  to  the  increase  of  our  missionary  zeal. 221—235 


PART    III. 

ENCOURAGEMENTS     OF     CHRISTIANS     TO     PROSECUTE     THE 
MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE. 

I.  Encouragement  from  the  history  of  Christianity.  II.  Encouragement  from  the 
political  aspect  of  the  world.  III.  Encouragement  from  the  moral  state  of 
the  world.  IV.  Encouragement  from  the  state  of  the  Protestant  churches. 
V.  Encouragement  from  the  word  of  God. 

Connection  with  the  preceding  parts,  and  application  of  the  whole 236 — 271 


PART    IV. 


OBJECTIONS    TO    THE    MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE. 

I.  The  missionary  enterprise  unnecessary  —  the  heathen  safe.  II.  The  mission- 
ary enterprise  impracticable.  III.  Civilization  should  precede  Christianity. 
IV.  We  have  "  heathen  enough  at  home."  V.  We  have  not  the  necessary 
funds.  VI.  Of  no  avail,  till  Christians  are  united.  VII.  Of  no  avail,  till  the 
"personal  reign"  of  Christ.  VIII.  The  time  is  not  yet  come  —  "must  not 
take  God's  work  out  of  his  hands,"  &c.  &c. 

Reflections 272—301 


16  CONTENTS. 


PART    V 


THE    WANTS    OF    THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH,    AS    A    MISSION 


ARY    SOCIETY,    EXAMINED. 


Found  to  consist,  generally,  in  the  want  of  entire  devotedness  to  its  office — 1.  More 
particularly  in  deep  humility  —  2.  In  the  due  appreciation  of  the  spiritual 
nature  of  its  office  —  3.  A  clear  conception  and  vivid  conviction  of  the  mis- 
sionary constitution  of  the  Christian  church — 4.  Missionary  information  should 
be  more  widely  circulated,  and  more  seriously  pondered  —  5.  A  greater  depth 
of  personal  piety — 6.  Holy  wisdom  to  mark  and  improve  the  movements  of 
Providence  —  7.  Greater  devotedness  to  the  missionary  object  among  ministers 
at  home  —  8.  Christian  union  —  9.  Greater  pecuniary  liberality — 10.  Mission- 
ary laymen  — 11.   Energy  and  zeal  —  12.   Prayer 

The  whole  applied  to  the  enforcement  of  entire  consecration 302 — 347 


PART    VI. 

MOTIVES     TO     ENFORCE      ENTIRE      DEVOTEDNESS     TO     THE 
MISSIONARY     ENTERPRISE. 

1.  To  retrieve,  if  possible,  the  evil  effects  of  past  neglect  — 2.  As  the  only  alterna- 
tive of  partial  hostility  against  Christ,  at  present  —  3.  The,  state  of  the  heathen 
requires  it  —  4.  The  remarkable  manner  in  which  Providence  is  calling  for  it  — 
5.  Some  have  thus  devoted  themselves  —  6.  It  is  only  a  devoted  church  that  is 
prepared  to  turn  the  characteristics  of  the  age,  change  and  transition,  to  a  scrip- 
tural account  —  7.  We  are  likely  to  impart  our  character  to  the  future  —  8.  Noth- 
ing done  for  Christ  is  lost  — 9.  All  things  belong  to  him  — 10.  The  claim  of 
redemption  — 11.  The  relative  object  of  redemption  — 12.  It  would  complete 
the  honor  of  the  gospel  — 13.  Our  regard  for  the  glory  of  God  requires  it  — 
14.   And  it  would  be  the  completion  of  human  happiness. 

Conclusion  348 — 393 


INTRODUCTION 


It  is  mentioned  by  Andrew  Fuller,  that  he  had  thought  of  pre- 
paring a  new  system  of  theology,  in  which  the  atonement  of  Christ 
should  be  made  the  central  truth,  and  all  the  other  doctrines  of  reli- 
gion be  interwoven  into  the  treatise  in  their  relations  to  the  great 
fact  of  man's  redemption.  Blending  as  his  mind  did  such  clearness 
and  such  force,  we  might  have  well  expected  that  any  work  it  should 
have  produced  upon  this  plan  would  have  been  of  great  value.  It  is 
one  of  the  excellences  which  distinguish  the  present  essay  on  Mis- 
sions, that  its  eloquent  author  has  commenced  the  discussion  of  his 
theme  at  this  same  point ;  viewed  our  world,  as  the  field  of  mission- 
ary toil,  through  the  atmosphere  of  Gethsemane  and  Calvary ;  and 
labored,  as  the  apostles  in  their  day  also  did,  to  set  before  the  church 
"  the  love  of  Christ,"  not  only  as  the  motive  of  effort,  but  as  the 
model  of  all  our  plans  and  sacrifices.  A  more  unreserved  surrender 
by  Christians  of  their  faculties,  their  substance,  and  their  influence, 
into  the  hands  of  Him  who  bought  them  with  his  own  blood,  —  a  life 
of  closer  communion  with  our  Lord,  and  of  more  entire  conformity 
to  his  image,  —  is  the  great  deficiency  of  the  church,  in  our  times. 
Were  it  attained,  a  thousand  errors  would  disappear,  without  further 
controversy ;  the  efforts  of  the  church  would  be  at  once  infinitely 
augmented,  even  without  the  addition  of  one  convert  to  the  ranks  of 
her  present  laborers ;  and  her  power  over  the  world  would  become 
alike  incalculable  and  irresistible. 

The  writer  of  these  remarks  would  not  assume  to  himself  the  task, 
to  which  he  feels  himself  so  unequal,  of  discussing  afresh  any  of  the 
topics  so  ably  handled  in  the  present  work,  to  which  he  has  con- 
sented, at  the  request  of  the  American  publishers,  to  furnish  an  In- 
troduction. But  it  will  be  observed  by  an  attentive  reader,  that  there 
are  questions  regarding  the  missionary  enterprise,  which  the  author 
did  not  consider  as  falling  within  the  limits  of  the  plan  he  had  pre- 
scribed for  himself,  symmetrical  and  comprehensive  as  that  plan  is. 
To  some  of  these  he  alludes,  as  "  questions  of  surpassing  interest," 
and  as  being  topics  "  which  are  likely,  at  no  distant  time,  to  force 
themselves  on  our  attention  in  a  manner  for  which  previous  consid- 
eration, and  devout  inquiry  of  God,  can  alone  prepare  us." #     He 


*  Page  319. 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

speaks  of  them  as  clothed  "  with  growing  interest ; "  and  although, 
from  various  causes,  it  might  be  inexpedient  that  the  work  he  has  so 
ably  prepared  should  enter  formally  into  the  examination  of  these 
topics,  they  are  some  of  them  practical  questions,  which  are  each 
day  pressing  themselves  with  added  momentum  and  greater  weight 
on  the  attention  of  the  churches.  The  past  history  of  the  Christian 
church  may  aid  us  in  part  to  obtain  the  solution  of  some  of  these 
problems ;  for  the  annals  of  the  world  and  the  church  are  but  the 
book  of  "  Providence  teaching  by  examples."  And  if,  with  regard 
to  others,  a  satisfactory  decision  seems  more  remote,  yet  there  are 
contingencies,  in  which  even  conjectures  may  not  be  without  their 
value.  When  Napoleon,  with  his  staff,  was  crossing  an  arm  of  the 
Red  Sea,  and  the  waters  were  found  to  be  rising,  while  the  shades 
of  night  were  gathering  around  them,  and  the  French  general  saw 
himself  menaced  with  the  fate  of  Pharaoh,  he  displayed  his  preemi- 
nent sagacity  by  the  orders  which  he  gave.  Checking  his  own 
horse,  and  remaining  stationary,  he  ordered  each  of  his  attendants  to 
ride  onward  to  the  several  points  in  that  circle  of  which  he  was  the 
centre.  He  who  found  the  water  becoming  shoal,  was  to  call  on  all 
the  rest  to  turn  and  follow  him.  Yet  it  is  sufficiently  evident,  that 
in  thus  effecting  an  escape  to  the  shore,  all  were  instrumental,  — 
they  who  found  themselves  swimming  in  the  deeper  waters,  as  well 
as  he  who  happened  to  turn  his  horse  s  head  towards  the  land.  In 
the  discovery  of  the  true  and  safe  path  in  some  moral  enterprise,  the 
process  pursued  by  the  investigator  must  often  be  an  exhaustive  one. 
He  must  consider  and  review  all  the  possible  forms  that  may  be  sug- 
gested, in  order  to  acquaint  himself  with  their  relative  merits  and 
defects.  And  in  carrying  forward  to  its  triumphant  accomplishment 
the  present  missionary  enterprise  of  the  church,  occasions  will  be 
found,  when  a  calm  estimate  of  all  the  doubts  and  difficulties  which 
seem  to  hide  the  path  of  duty  will  be  doubly  beneficial.  Such  ex- 
amination will  call  out  the  wisdom  and  exercise  the  prudence  of  the 
church ;  and  drive  her  also,  under  the  deepening  sense  of  her  own 
ignorance  and  insufficiency,  to  that  mercy-seat  which  she  has  never 
sought  in  vain. 

And  in  the  discussion  of  such  questions,  the  Christians  of  our  own 
country  have  a  peculiar  and  hereditary  interest  America  was  long 
to  the  Christians  of  Europe  the  field  of  missionary  effort.  Columbus, 
its  discoverer,  was  strongly  actuated  by  the  prophecies  he  was  wont 
so  intently  to  study,  and  by  the  hopes  he  cherished  of  extending  here 
the  kingdom  of  Christ.  In  the  mind  of  his  patron,  the  Queen  of 
Spain,  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  to  Christianity  was  an  object 
"paramount  to  all  the  rest."  *  And  Protestantism  vied  with  Roman- 
ism in  endeavors  to  establish  on  our  shores  Christian  colonies.  The 
brave  and  devout  Coligny,  while  heading  the  Protestants  of  France, 
labored  to  plant  the  faith  in  either  portion  of  our  continent,  in  Brazil 
to  the  south,  as  in  Florida  to'the  north,  although  in  each  case  in  vain. 


*  Prescott's  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  vol.  ii.  496. 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

The  Puritan  Fathers  of  New  England  were  more  successful,  and  the 
world  is  yet  wondering  at  the  rapid  development  each  new  genera- 
tion is  making  of  the  influence  those  Christians  exercised.  Some  of 
the  strongest  and  noblest  minds  of  Europe  looked  intently  to  our 
country  as  the  scene  of  missions.  Such  were  Cromwell,  and  Boyle, 
and  Berkeley,  in  England.  Such  was  Fenelon,  one  of  whose  youthful 
schemes  it  was,  to  become  himself  a  missionary  in  Canada,  then  a 
French  province.*  Amongst  ourselves,  too,  God  raised  up  mission- 
aries, at  a  time  when  the  Protestants  of  Europe  were  comparatively 
inactive  in  this  work.  Our  Eliot,  our  May  hews,  and  our  Brainerd, 
labored  long  and  devoutly.  The  memoirs  of  the  latter,  especially, 
served  to  excite  the  zeal  and  to  mould  the  character  of  William 
Carey  and  of  Henry  Martyn,  two  of  the  most  honored  names  among 
the  modern  missionaries  of  Great  Britain.  And  in  our  own  times, 
the  Great  Head  of  the  church  has  given  to  the  Christians  of  this 
land,  among  those  whose  work  is  now  ended,  and  those  who  yet  toil 
in  the  mission  field,  some  names  not  likely  to  be  forgotten  as  long  as 
the  earthly  church  has  a  history  and  a  being.  As  the  children  of  a 
soil  which  the  Christians  of  Europe  thus  sought  to  evangelize  ;  as  the 
descendants  of  those  who  labored  when  the  Protestants  of  the  Old 
World  were  comparatively  inefficient ;  as  the  compatriots  of  those 
who  have  left  their  bones  in  Asia,  in  Africa,  and  in  the  islands  of 
the  sea,  taking  possession  thus  for  Christ  and  his  church  of  the 
countries  of  the  heathen,  —  American  Christians  have  an  undeniable 
interest  in  the  examination  of  every  scheme  and  every  question  that 
bear  directly  or  indirectly  on  the  great  duty  of  evangelizing  the  world. 
They  are  thus  repaying  the  debt  they  owe  to  the  Christians  of 
other  nations  ;  asserting  anew  the  principles  of  their  forefathers  long 
since  gathered  to  their  rest,  and  guarding  also  the  memory  of  their 
brethren  who  have  more  recently  fallen  in  the  missionary  field.  In 
the  discussion,  too,  of  some  of  these  questions,  the  Christians  of  this 
country  have  stores  of  experience  that  are  peculiarly  their  own,  and 
that  are  not  equally  accessible  to  their  fellow-Christians  in  Europe. 
We  need  but  name  the  power  of  the  voluntary  principle,  as  seen 
amongst  us  in  the  support  of  religion  and  its  institutions ;  and  the 
exemption  of  our  churches  alike  from  the  oppressions  of  the  state,  as 
dissenters,  and  from  its  patronage,  as  an  establishment,  —  evils  felt 
by  our  brethren  in  the  foreign  as  well  as  in  the  home  field. 

1.  A  question  of  great  moment,  that  has  within  the  last  few  years 
perplexed  the  missionary  bodies  both  of  the  Old  and  New  World,  is 
that  of  the  mode  in  which  funds  may  be  secured,  adequate  to  the 
support  of  the  missions  which  the  providence  of  God  has  cast  upon 
them.  And  these  missions  need  not  only  to  be  sustained,  but  the 
wants  of  the  heathen  and  the  commands  of  the  gospel  join  with  the 
invitations  of  Divine  Providence  to  require  that  they  should  be  widely 
extended.  This  was  a  difficulty  which  the  earlier  friends  of  modern 
missions  scarce   anticipated  as  one  that  could  by  any  possibility 


*  Bausset,  Hist,  de  Fenelon. 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

occur.  Such,  at  least,  was  the  sentiment  of  Fuller.  In  a  letter  of 
advice  to  a  friend,  who  had  commenced  a  society  for  the  evangeliza- 
tion of  Ireland,  he  recurs  to  his  own  experience  in  the  work  of  prop- 
agating the  gospel  in  India.  "  Be  more  anxious  to  do  the  work  than 
to  get  money.  If  the  work  be  done,  and  modestly  and  faithfully  re- 
ported, money  will  come.  We  have  never  had  occasion  to  ask  for 
money,  but  once  .  .  .  The  first  contributions  at  your  meeting  were 
much  beyond  £13  2s.  Gd.,  with  which  we  commenced.  Money  ivas 
one  of  the  least  of  our  concerns ;  we  never  doubted,  that  if,  by  the 
good  hand  of  our  God  upon  us,  we  could  do  the  work,  the  friends  of 
Christ  would  support  us."  *  Yet,  within  a  short  time,  we  have  seen 
schools  disbanded,  the  cries  of  missionaries  for  assistants  in  their 
labor  disregarded,  and  our  Missionary  Boards  compelled,  by  the 
dread  of  bankruptcy  at  home,  when  the  loud  summons  of  Providence 
called  them  to  enter  upon  the  widening  and  whitening  fields  ripe  for 
the  harvest,  to  meet  the  call  with  the  complaint,  that  an  exhausted 
treasury  left  them  no  means  for  enlarging,  scarce  even  of  sustaining, 
their  present  endeavors.  Various  modes  have  indeed  been  attempt- 
ed, and  not  without  some  measure  of  success,  to  remedy  this  dis- 
tressing state  of  affairs.  Among  the  most  promising  are,  perhaps, 
the  appeals  made  through  Sabbath  schools  to  the  younger  members 
of  the  church.  The  Wesleyans  of  England,  and  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society,  have  both  received  large  and  efficient  aid  from  these 
sources.  Under  the  auspices  of  the  latter  body  have  been  lately 
prepared  a  series  of  missionary  works  for  the  use  of  children.  The 
method  has  the  advantage  of  not  only  creating  in  the  minds  of  the 
young  habits  of  liberality  likely  to  grow  with  their  growth,  but  of 
also  training  up  many  to  become  themselves  missionaries,  dedicated 
with  "  the  dew  of  their  youth  "  upon  them  to  the  service  of  Christ 
among  the  far  heathen.  Amid  all  the  worldliness  of  which  the 
church  must  yet  complain,  it  is  yet  a  truth,  equally  gratifying  and 
indisputable,  that  the  standard  of  liberality  in  the  Christians  of  the 
age  is  rising.  Though,  yet,  far  beneath  the  measure  of  the  primitive 
disciples,  it  is  certainly  much  in  advance  of  what  was  seen  but  a 
few  years  since.  Even  the  very  deficiencies,  of  which  the  various 
evangelical  bodies  of  our  time  complain,  in  the  funds  required  for 
their  missions,  grow  in  part  out  of  the  rapid  development  and  in- 
crease those  missions  have  experienced.  Some  have  proposed  to 
keep  down  the  expenditures  of  the  church  in  the  mission  work,  until 
a  time  of  higher  devotedness  on  the  part  of  Christians  shall  have 
arrived.  This  course  seems  indefensible,  whether  we  look  to  human 
nature  or  to  Scripture.  The  souls  of  men  are  not  likely  to  be  stirred 
to  support  adequately  a  work,  even  in  its  present  state,  unless  it  gives 
signs  of  continued  advancement.  And  continued  advancement  in 
the  work  of  evangelization  inevitably  brings  an  increase  of  expendi- 
ture. Success  is  necessary  to  sympathy  and  support,  and  success 
itself  involves  growing  liabilities  and  widening  efforts.     Such  re- 


*  Letter  of  Fuller  to  Ivimey,  dated  Kettering,  April  22,  1814. 


INTRODUCTION.         •  21 

trenchment  is,  above  all,  indefensible,  if  we  look  to  the  Book  we  are 
commending  to  the  heathen.  Legible  on  the  last  —  the  outermost 
fold  of  Matthew's  Gospel,  where  hangs  the  very  seal  of  the  minister's 
commission,  stands  the  precept,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world."  Would 
the  church  obliterate  or  conceal  that  irksome  commandment?  In 
doing  so,  she  must  also  erase  the  promise  that  accompanies  it  —  "  Lo, 
I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world"  She  cannot 
abridge  her  task  without  renouncing  her  helper,  and  foregoing  the 
promised  presence  of  her  Lord.  Ruinous,  indeed,  would  that  econ- 
omy be,  which  should  bar  out  the  Redeemer  from  his  own  church, 
as  too  exacting  and  expensive  a  guest.  The  church  has  abundant 
resources,  and  it  needs  but  a  higher  grade  of  piety,  and  a  juster 
sense  of  duty,  to  reach  them.  Systematic  contributions  on  the  part 
of  all,  of  every  age  and  of  every  condition,  would  give  the  funds 
needed,  and  funds  so  given  would  be  abundantly  blessed.  Might 
not  a  literal  return  to  the  primitive  rule  of  laying  by  on  each  Sab- 
bath day,  as  God  hath  prospered  us,  largely  swell  the  missionary 
revenues  of  the  church  ?  Frequent  and  small  gains,  in  their  aggre- 
gate, always  exceed  large  sums  obtained  at  longer  intervals.  The 
poorest  might  give  without  inconvenience,  in  weekly  payments,  a 
sum  which  in  its  yearly  amount  they  would  never  think  of  contribut- 
ing. The  sacredness  of  the  Sabbath,  and  its  softening  and  elevat- 
ing associations,  might  tend  also  to  make  the  richer  Christian  more 
liberal  than  he  would  be  if  solicited  amid  the  cares  and  hardening 
influences  of  the  week.  And,  again,  the  principle  of  giving  as  God 
has  prospered  seems  to  imply  a  grateful  acknowledgment  thus  to  be 
made  of  mercies  received  since  the  past  Sabbath,  the  rearing,  week 
by  week,  of  a  new  Ebenezer  along  the  pathway  of  life.  It  is  but 
too  evident  that  feelings  of  thankfulness,  like  all  other  passive  im- 
pressions, are  easily  effaced,  and  can  only  with  difficulty  be  pre- 
served in  their  original  freshness.  A  deliverance  received,  an  un- 
expected accession  of  property,  the  recovery  from  the  verge  of  the 
grave  of  a  beloved  child,  —  are  all  blessings  likely  to  be  more  justly 
appreciated  and  more  liberally  acknowledged,  in  the  devout  medita- 
tions of  the  Sabbath  immediately  succeeding  the  bestowment  of  the 
benefit,  than  when  we  come  at  the  year's  end  to  review  them  as  they 
are  seen  faintly  and  afar  through  the  mists  of  distance.  Were  the 
periods  of  Christian  liberality  thus  made  more  frequent,  on  the  part 
of  the  opulent  especially,  large  sums,  again,  that  now  go  to  swell  the 
capital  of  an  estate,  and  as  such  are  never  to  be  touched  by  the  hand 
of  almsgiving,  would  be  kept,  where  they  belong,  in  the  place  of 
profits,  gained  by  the  blessing  of  Providence,  and  which  it  would  be 
felt  are  to  be  liberally  dispensed  at  the  command  of  the  Father  in 
heaven  who  gave  them.  And  we  doubt  not  that  the  church  is  yet 
to  witness  the  pouring  of  entire  fortunes  into  her  treasury,  upon  the 
return  of  that  primitive  spirit,  which  of  old  laid  the  price  of  houses 
and  lands  at  the  apostle's  feet. 

2.  A  question  yet  remaining  in  some  obscurity,  though  the  course 
of  events  has  thrown  increasing  light  upon  it,  is,  that  of  the  best  form 


22  INTRODUCTION. 

of  missionary  labor.  The  error  once  so  prevalent,  that  civilization 
must  precede  conversion,  is  now  well  nigh  exploded.  Once  it 
seemed  so  certain  a  truth,  that  the  acute  mind  of  Warburton  ad- 
duced it  as  a  reason,  why  Protestant  missions  had  been  compara- 
tively inefficient,  that  they  had  overlooked  the  absolute  necessity  of 
civilization  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  gospel.*  But,  in  the  work  of 
commending  the  word  of  God  to  a  heathen  people,  what  proportion 
y  of  the  labor  should  be  given  to  schools,  what  to  translations,  and  the 
care  of  the  press,  and  what  to  preaching,  seems  a  more  difficult  in- 
quiry. Reason,  Scripture,  and  experience,  all  seem  to  require  that 
the  living  preacher  should  be  the  chief  and  foremost  instrumentality 
upon  which  the  church  should  rely  ;  while  there  are  circumstances 
and  seasons  that  may  require  the  church  to  make  large  efforts  and 
expenditures  for  the  instruction  of  the  young  through  schools,  and  to 
supply  a  nation  of  readers  with  Christian  books ;  as,  in  yet  other  sit- 
uations, much  attention  may  be  justly  given  to  the  instruction  of  a 
nation,  emerging  from  barbarism,  in  the  use  of  the  plough,  and  the 
shuttle,  and  the  various  arts  that  go  to  adorn  and  enrich  the  Chris- 
tian home.  But  whatever  may  be  urged  in  commendation  of  other 
modes  of  presenting  the  gospel,  the  preaching  of  the  word  has  an 
honor  that  is  put  upon  no  other  instrumentality ;  in  its  having  been 
the  form  of  our  Lord's  own  labors  while  on  the  earth,  and  in  its  se- 
lection by  him,  as  the  means  which  he  commanded  the  church  to 
employ,  and  which,  in  his  promises,  he  specifically  bound  himself  to 
bless.  It  was  in  its  use  that  Christianity  won  its  earliest  and  most 
glorious  victories.  Ere  yet  a  single  book  of  the  New  Testament 
had  been  written,  it  was  by  the  use  of  preaching  that  the  apostles 
had  already,  as  their  enemies  alleged, ';  filled  all  Jerusalem  with  their 
doctrine."  Philosophy  had  her  lectures,  given  in  the  grove,  or  the 
garden,  or  the  porch,  to  her  select  auditors,  "  fit  and  few,"  and  given 
only  for  pay.  She  had  never  dreamed  of  bringing  down  the  loftiest 
truths  to  an  indiscriminate  audience,  and  that  without  fee  or  reward. 
But  by  what  the  wise  of  this  world  deemed  eminently  "  tlie  foolish- 
iiess  of  preaching  "  the  new  religion  overturned  their  power  and  scat- 
tered their  dreams.  The  church  of  the  first  century  was  not  com- 
paratively a  church  of  writers,  and  hence  the  remains  of  primitive 
antiquity  are  scanty  in  amount,  and  often  breathe  a  rude  simplicity ; 
but,  though  the  writings  of  the  new  sect  were  few,  the  devout  and 
fearless  preacher  was  every  where,  and  hence  it  was  that  one  of  the 
Fathers  spoke  soon  of  the  Christian  church  as  being  found  every 


*  Even  yet,  the  error  lingers  in  quarters  where  it  was  scarce  to  be  expected,  amid 
all  the  blaze  of  recent  missionary  experience  on  this  subject.  Bloomfield,  in  his 
Recensio  Synoptica  on  Hebrews  5  :  12,  has  said,  "  The  Christian  religion  may  be  said 
to  form  a  kind  of  science  ;  for  which  very  reason  (and  would  that  some  who  have  a 
zeal,  but  not  according  to  knowledge,  would  bear  it  in  mind)  civilization  ought  ever 
to  precede  evangelization."  The  Italics  are  his  own.  To  us,  we  must  say,  the  remark 
displays  as  little  of  knowledge  as  of  zeal.  The  principle  it  asserts  has  been  dis- 
proved in  either  hemisphere,  and  under  every  zone,  from  Greenland  to  Brazil,  amid 
the  Catfres  and  the  Karens,  the  inhabitants  of  New  Zealand  and  those  of  the  Sand- 
wich Islands. 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

where,  in  the  city  and  the  village,  in  the  army,  the  senate,  and  the 
forum.  In  the  growth  of  anti-Christian  delusion  and  imposture,  the 
pulpit  lost  its  legitimate  influence ;  and  the  Reformation  early  dis- 
tinguished itself  by  the  new  impulse  which  it  gave  to  preaching,  not 
merely  among  the  Protestant  nations  of  Europe,  but  even  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Romish  church.  It  was  preaching,  carried  back  yet 
one  step  nearer  the  apostolic  model,  in  its  being  grafted  upon  a  sys- 
tem of  itineracy,  which,  in  the  shape  of  Methodism,  broke  up  the 
dreamy  slumber  of  the  English  Established  Church,  and  carried  the 
light  of  the  gospel  into  the  most  neglected  recesses  of  the  island. 

We  would  not  diminish  in  the  least  the  just  claims  of  the  press, 
that  instrument  by  which  such  preachers  as  Baxter  are  yet  uttering 
their  message  with  a  voice  that  death  cannot  still ;  nor  forget  the 
honor  due  to  schools,  for  which  that  devoted  missionary,  our  own 
Eliot,  was  accustomed  so  fervently  and  frequently  to  pray.  But  over 
the  written  page,  the  living  preacher  has  ever  this  preeminent  ad- 
vantage. He  varies  his  message  to  his  varying  auditory ;  he  reaches 
the  prejudiced  who  will  not,  and  the  illiterate  who  cannot  read;  he 
commends  his  errand  to  the  heathen  by  the  voice  and  the  look,  and 
all  those  signs  of  human  sympathy  that  no  literature  can  paint,  no 
powers  of  the  press  transfer  into  written  characters.  Yet,  beyond  all 
this,  he  is  himself  the  living  imbodiment  of  the  truth  that  he  pub- 
lishes, a  speaking  model  of  the  peace  which  he  promises,  the  patience 
that  he  commands,  and  the  self-denial  and  the  charity  his  religion  is 
to  produce.  And  beside  this,  he  is  himself,  if  a  man  of  God,  the 
partaker  of  that  Spirit  whose  blessing  alone  can  render  any  human 
efforts  successful  to  the  conversion  of  souls.  Taught  by  that  Spirit, 
lie  follows,  which  the  tract  cannot  do,  his  message  with  his  prayers, 
and  steeps  thus  the  seed  which  he  scatters  in  the  quickening  dews 
of  heaven.  Over  schools,  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  its  aiming  directly  at  the  grand  end  of  missions,  the  sal- 
vation of  the  nation,  while  the  school-teacher  seeks  the  same  end 
circuitously,  and  with  much  consequent  loss  of  time  and  labor.  The 
preacher  addresses  the  adult  generation,  in  whose  hands  the  power 
and  character  of  the  country  lie ;  the  teacher  acts  upon  the  young, 
whose  present  influence  is  circumscribed,  and  whose  future  influence 
we  cannot  safely  count  upon,  when  removed  from  the  restraints  of 
the  academy,  and  flung  into  the  midst  of  a  heathen  society  which 
outnumbers,  corrupts,  and  overwhelms  them,  just  so  far  as  their  char- 
acter is  merely  the  result  of  education,  and  not  the  result  of  that 
renewing  grace  which  the  preacher  seeks  to  impart  to  the  parent, 
the  youth,  and  the  child,  alike.  Preaching  is,  as  Francis  Xavier 
called  it,  " a  universal  good"  —  that  Xavier  whose  own  influence  was 
at  once  so  wide  and  powerful,  and  in  whose  character  and  history 
there  is  so  much  for  the  devout  Protestant  to  emulate ;  even  while 
he  may  listen  incredulously  to  the  claims  set  up  for  him  by  a  brother 
Jesuit,  the  eloquent  Bourdaloue,  that  he  preached  the  gospel  in  fifty- 
two  kingdoms,  and  over  more  than  three  thousand  leagues  of  terri- 
tory, and  baptized  with  his  own  hands  a  million  of  pagans.* 

*  Bourdaloue,  ii.  510. 


24  INTRODUCTION. 

The  most  successful  missions  would  seem  as  yet  to  have  been  in- 
sular, or  if  situated  on  the  main  land,  where  the  same  class  of  popu- 
lation was  found  as  is  generally  to  be  seen  in  an  island,  a  people  in 
some  measure  isolated  from  others,  and  having  one,  homogeneous 
character,  such  as  is  not  to  be  discovered  in  nations  inhabiting  wider 
districts,  and  left  more  free  to  roam  into  other  countries.  Such  an 
isolation  is  found,  for  instance,  in  the  Karen,  and  the  Greenlander, 
although  not  an  insular  people. 

That  the  ministry  should  as  early  as  possible,  and  as  soon  as  is 
consistent  with  purity  of  doctrine  and  the  safety  of  the  mission 
churches,  be  furnished  by  the  nation  itself,  seems  a  principle  in  which 
all  are  agreed.  The  work  of  carrying  forward  the  evangelization  of 
a  country  to  its  last  stages  must  fall  ultimately  on  the  converts  them- 
selves, and  the  native  preacher  complete  what  the  foreign  evangelist 
has  begun. 

3.  We  are  thus  led  to  another  question :  The  period  at  which  a 
tribe  or  country  shall  be  considered  as  competent  to  meet  their  own 
spiritual  wants,  and  cease  to  be  the  charge  of  the  Missionary  Society 
that  first  brought  to  them  the  gospel.  With  the  increase  in  numbers 
and  in  liberality  of  the  native  churches,  there  are  portions  of  the  mis- 
sion field  that  seem  approaching  to  that  state  when  the  pecuniary 
burdens  of  the  mission  might  well  be  assumed  by  themselves.  But 
could  they  yet  dispense  with  the  superior  knowledge,  experience,  and 
prudence  of  the  foreign  Christians,  to  whose  zeal  they  owe  the  first 
proclamation  of  the  gospel  amongst  them  ?  Yet,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  seems  clear  that  the  very  spirit  of  the  gospel  forbids  their  being 
kept  in  dependence  upon  foreign  guidance  and  support  longer  than 
is  absolutely  inevitable.  There  are  faculties  in  the  man  that  can 
only  be  developed  by  his  passing  from  the  state  of  pupilage,  and 
being  left  to  buffet  the  difficulties  of  life  with  his  own  solitary  en- 
ergy. A  nation  cannot,  if  educated  and  enterprising,  long  remain 
happy,  or  make  the  due  development  of  their  resources,  while  they 
remain  the  colonies  of  a  distant  empire,  legislating  always  in  igno- 
rance of  their  wants,  and  often  in  selfish  disregard  of  their  interests. 
It  was  necessary  to  our  own  progress  as  a  people,  that  the  bonds 
which  attached  us  to  a  distant  island  should  be  severed,  ere  our 
broad  territory  could  be  cultivated,  or  our  physical  and  moral  re- 
sources be  properly  ascertained  and  wisely  directed.  Is  not  the 
principle  that  applies  to  the  individual  and  the  nation  a  principle 
striking  deep  its  roots  into  the  nature  of  man,  and  applicable  there- 
fore, in  its  due  measure,  to  the  church  also  ?  The  churches  at  home 
may  not  yet  have  the  knowledge  of  facts  requisite  to  define  the 
period  when  missionary  supervision  should  cease,  and  a  nation  pass 
from  the  ranks  of  those  receiving,  to  the  number  of  those  giving  mis- 
sionary instruction.  That  such  relinquishment  of  care  and  control 
on  the  part  of  the  Missionary  Society  should  be  delayed  until  the 
land  is  entirely  evangelized  would  seem  unreasonable.  Perhaps  —  for 
our  God  is  one  wondrous  in  working  —  controversies  and  schisms  may 
be  in  such  circumstances  permitted,  and  by  his  skill  be  overruled  to 


INTRODUCTION,  25 

effect,  as  revolutions  have  done  in  the  political  world,  those  changes 
in  the  moral  world,  which,  from  our  reluctance  to  accomplish  them 
peaceably,  he  brings  to  pass  by  a  stern  and  salutary  violence.  Thus 
it  was  that  persecutions  scattered  widely  the  burning  brands  of  the 
apostolic  church,  from  that  church  at  Jerusalem  where  they  were 
blazing  as  on  a  quiet  hearth,  and  wasting  alike  their  warmth  and 
their  lustre,  to  spread  them  over  the  face  of  distant  lands,  where 
otherwise  they  might  never  have  kindled  the  light  of  their  testi- 
mony. And  thus,  too,  even  the  sharp  contentions  that  parted  Paul 
and  Barnabas  were  but  as  a  feeble  blast,  falling  upon  a  recent  con- 
flagration, and  driving  it  rapidly  to  distant  parts  it  might  else  never 
have  reached. 

4.  A  question  which  we  do  not  remember  to  have  seen  discussed 
is,  that  of  the  circumstances  which  may  be  considered  as  rendering 
a  field  inaccessible,  or  which  require  those  who  have  attempted  its 
culture  to  abandon  it  as  hopeless.  Does  the  Providence  of  God  yet 
speak  distinctly  at  times,  as  of  old  his  Spirit  once  spake  to  apostles, 
forbidding  them  to  go  into  Asia  ?  If  so,  what  are  the  indications 
which  must  bear  so  sad  an  interpretation,  and  require  the  church  to 
leave  the  adversary  for  a  time  in  the  unmolested  possession  of  his 
prey,  while  they  place  the  land  so  relinquished  for  a  time  beyond  the 
range  of  the  church's  sympathies  and  prayers.  In  the  East  and  in 
the  West  are  seen  fields  of  mission  effort  once  attempted,  but  now 
lying  fallow.  The  Mahometan  nations  are  at  this  time  the  subject 
of  little  direct  missionary  labor.  China,  in  its  vast  interior  territory, 
has  been  regarded  by  the  Protestant  churches  as  closed  against  their 
missionaries.  Romanism  has  her  missionaries  there,  as  Wiseman 
boasts  of  them,  each  one  "  working  with  the  axe  suspended  over  his 
head."  *  They  secured  their  admission,  it  is  to  be  feared,  by  arts 
little  consistent  with  Christian  integrity.  But  from  the  strict  and 
sanguinary  vigilance  that  guards  Japan  against  the  missionary  of  the 
cross,  even  that  proselyting  communion  has  shrunk  back  appalled. 
Pursuing  the  same  train  of  thought,  it  may  be  asked,  What  is  the 
amount  of  peril  to  health  or  life,  that  constitutes  a  barrier  which  the 
church  is  not  required  to  scale?  Persecuted  in  one  city,  Christ 
required  them  to  flee  to  another;  and  when  it  is  viewed  in  this  light, 
the  passion  for  martyrdom  boasted  of  in  the  Romish  church,  is  seen, 
in  the  character  of  the  church  of  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries,  as 
compared  with  the  church  of  the  first  century,  to  be  the  mark  of 
growing  superstition  and  declining  piety.  But  when  the  Savior  en- 
joined flight  from  one  town  to  some  other  less  inhospitable,  did  the 
permission  to  quit  a  city  imply  the  right  to  quit  the  entire  country  ? 
Again,  it  may  be  asked,  what  is  the  delay  of  success  and  the  term 
of  fruitless  effort,  that  entitles  a  missionary  colony  to  return  to  their 
native  soil,  and  to  pronounce  a  field  reprobate,  and  given  over  to 
burning  ?  Dubois,  after  long  acquaintance  with  India,  and  personal 
toil  as  a  missionary,  which  gained  for  him,  according  to  a  despatch 


*  Wiseman,  Lect.  on  Doctrines  and  Practices  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

3 


26  INTRODUCTION. 

of  the  British  Governor  in  Council,  "  a  degree  of  respect  among  both 
Europeans  and  natives  rarely  equalled,"  yet  saw  so  little  true  piety 
in  the  churches,  upon  which  his  church  had  bestowed  the  toils  of 
two  centuries,  and  boasted,  meanwhile,  most  loudly  of  her  success, 
that  he  supposed  the  people  reprobate  of  God.#  What  are  the  con- 
siderations which  authorize  a  Protestant  Christian,  studying  his  duty 
from  the  Scriptures,  to  rest  in  a  similar  conclusion  ? 

5.  The  union  of  the  several  evangelical  denominations  to  carry 
forward  more  successfully  the  mission  work,  has  been  early  and 
often  proposed.  The  gifted  Isaac  Taylor  had  a  scheme  for  the  adop- 
tion, by  common  consent  of  British  Christians,  of  Episcopacy  as  the 
basis  of  such  united  action.  Harris  himself,  in  the  present  work, 
seems  to  consider  the  establishment  of  the  London  Missionary  So- 
ciety as  forming  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  missions,  because  of  its 
inviting  the  cooperation  of  the  various  evangelical  sects.  Various 
Protestant  writers  have  presented  their  schemes  for  the  coalescence 
of  the  several  Christian  churches  in  missions.  Nor  have  these 
churches  only  discussed  it.  A  Romish  bishop,  of  our  own  country, 
has  suggested  it  to  at  least  one  body  of  Protestant  Christians,  as 
being  indispensable  to  success  in  foreign  missions.f  To  us,  we 
must  confess,  the  necessity  of  a  formal  union  seems  never  yet  to 
have  been  made  out  The  present  state  of  the  church  seems  clearly 
to  render  it  impracticable  ;  and  even  were  it  feasible,  there  are  con- 
siderations which  lead  us  to  doubt  whether  it  were  desirable.  The 
nominal  unity  of  the  Romish  church,  to  many  a  mind  so  strong  an 
argument  for  her  claims  to  supremacy,  is  notoriously  no  safeguard 
against  controversies  the  most  bitter,  and  rivalries  the  most  relent- 
less, between  the  several  orders  that  shelter  themselves  beneath  the 
seamless  mantle  of  their  one  common  mother.  There  are  existing 
evils  in  the  church  which  no  union,  merely  formal,  could  heal. 
There  are  others  which  the  existence  of  such  union  would  surely 
aggravate  into  tenfold  virulence.  The  peaceable  separation  of 
Christian  sects,  holding  the  same  Head,  and  exchanging,  over  the 
lines  of  party  enclosure,  the  greetings  of  Christian  brotherhood,  is 
not  as  formidable  an  evil  as  it  is  often  represented.  And  every 
scheme  we  remember  to  have  seen  for  effecting  a  union,  in  the 
present  state  of  the  several  churches,  has  proceeded  on  the  principle 
of  expediency.  We  do  not  see  how  Protestants,  recognizing  the 
paramount  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  and  making  the  polity  of  their 
churches,  like  the  doctrines  of  their  several  confessions,  to  rest  on 
the  single  basis  of  the  revealed  word  of  God,  could,  in  consistency 
with  their  own  principles,  come  together  into  a  church  avowedly  of 
human  organization,  constituted  by  compromises  mutually  exchanged, 
and  resting  on  a  new  sort  of  electicism  for  its  very  foundation.     It 


*  It  seems  scarce  consistent  with  candor  in  Wiseman,  to  slur  over  this  significant 
fact,  without  further  allusion  to  it  than  by  saying  that  the  Abbe  Dubois  "  had  a  par- 
ticular theory  on  this  subject  which  he  endeavored  to  maintain."  Lect.  on  Doct.  and  Prac- 
tices of  Catholic  Religion. 

t  Bishop  Kenrick. 


INTRODUCTION.  27 

would  be  the  electicism  of  human  wisdom,  prescribing  to  the  several 
sects  the  duty  of  quietly  surrendering,  or  of  holding  in  abeyance 
truths  they  profess  conscientiously  to  derive  from  the  divine  records. 
If,  for  such  union,  I  may  surrender  one  truth,  I  may,  for  the  purpose 
of  extending  the  union  yet  more  widely,  sacrifice  still  additional 
doctrines,  until,  from  a  basis  of  divine  origin  in  the  Bible,  I  had 
shifted  my  faith  and  my  hope  to  a  basis  merely  and  purely  the  device 
of  men.  Nor  is  a  union  merely  nominal  of  any  real  value.  The 
London  Missionary  Society  is,  we  believe,  composed  of  Congrega- 
tional churches,  and  Calvinistic  in  doctrine.  The  clergymen  of  the 
Establishment  preach  at  its  anniversaries,  with  others.  But  its  mis- 
sionaries are  Congregationalists ;  Congregationalism  it  plants  in 
heathen  countries,  and  it  never  has  hoped  to  unite  abroad,  as  it 
never  has  united  at  home,  the  varying  views  of  the  Churchman  and 
the  Dissenter,  the  follower  of  Wesley  and  the  disciple  of  Calvin ;  the 
men  who  make  infants  church  members  and  the  men  who  sturdily 
deny  their  right  to  such  membership.  We  cannot  conceive  any 
gain  of  effective  union,  any  real  diminution  of  controversy,  by  such 
flinging  of  the  walls  of  a  professed  union  around  those  who  have  not 
been  brought  into  the  unity  of  one  creed,  and  cannot  labor  consis- 
tently and  conscientiously  within  the  enclosures  of  one  church.  He 
who  knew  the  worth  of  union,  as  its  most  ardent  advocates  never 
have  done,  —  he  who  implored  it  of  the  Father  in  a  prayer  yet  to  be 
answered,  —  he  who  will  accomplish  it  in  his  own  good  hour,  and 
in  his  own  wiser  methods,  has  taught  us,  in  that  petition  itself,  that 
for  the  union  greater  sanctification  is  needed,  and  that  the  process 
to  sanctification  is  through  obedience  to  the  truth.  Until  a  higher 
grade  of  holiness,  not  impeccable  indeed,  but  far  beyond  our  present 
attainments,  pervades  the  church,  her  union  would  form  her  into  a 
mass,  unwieldy  by  its  weight,  and  oppressive  by  its  power.  In 
effecting  that  sanctification,  and  in  seeking  that  union,  the  churches 
would  sacrifice  the  very  means  of  God's  own  appointment,  if  they 
surrendered  truth,  as  they  conscientiously  supposed  it,  for  the  sake 
of  expediency ;  and  despairing  of  ultimate  union  on  God's  basis,  the 
common  reception  of  the  truth,  sought  to  effect  it  upon  a  basis  of 
human  invention.  A  base  broader  than  the  truth  must  rest  for  sup- 
port on  the  shifting  sands  of  interest,  opinion,  and  fashion  ;  and  ulti- 
mately sink  beneath  the  weight  which  it  bears.  Mutual  sympathy 
and  fraternal  conference,  as  to  the  fields  of  labor,  are  all  that  seem 
needed.  To  secure  these,  some  such  plan  as  Carey  wished  might 
be  adopted,  —  a  conference  of  evangelical  Christians,  to  be  held  every 
ten  years.  He  would  have  it,  for  the  sake  of  easier  access  to  the 
Eastern  missionaries,  held  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.* 

(5.  A  question,  suggested  by  our  author,  with  regard  to  the  duties 
which  the  missionary  churches  of  the  age  owe  to  the  Christians  of 
Russia,f  leads  to  the  wider  inquiry,  in  what  manner  should  those  now 
laboring  for  the  heathen  express  their  sympathy  for  those  of  the 


*  Life  of  Carey,  p.  323.  t  Page  332. 


28  INTRODUCTION. 

established  churches  of  Europe  or  Asia,  that,  although  nominally 
Christian,  have  lost  the  fervor  of  true  piety  ?  To  the  ill-disguised 
Socinianism  of  the  church  of  Geneva ;  to  the  neology  that  but 
recently  bore  almost  unquestioned  sway  in  the  pulpits  and  theologi- 
cal chairs  of  large  portions  of  Germany ;  to  the  formalism  and  super- 
stition of  the  Greek  church,  with  a  ritual  in  some  respects  even  more 
cumbrous  than  that  of  Romanism ;  to  the  imbecility  of  the  Coptic 
church,  and  the  paganized  and  spurious  Christianity  of  Abyssinia ; 
to  the  Armenian,  and  the  Chaldean  Christians,  and  the  other  Chris- 
tians of  the  East,  do  we  owe  nothing,  in  seeking  the  evangelization 
of  the  world  ?  There  are  portions  of  the  heathen  world  we  cannot 
reach  but  with  the  consent  of  some  of  these  enfeebled  and  corrupt 
churches.  If  we  suppose  them,  as  do  some,  entitled  to  the  unques- 
tioning recognition  of  all  their  claims,  would  not  the  same  principlev 
have  required  the  purest  of  apostolic  churches  to  have  fraternized 
with  the  guilty  churches  of  Sardis  and  Laodicea  ?  And  here  is  seen 
one  aspect  at  least  of  the  evils  which  a  civil  establishment  inflicts  on 
religion.  Wherever  any  of  these  churches  are  the  creatures  of  the 
state,  representing  the  religion  of  the  rulers  of  the  lands  they  occupy, 
any  interference,  however  innocent  and  scriptural,  witli  their  errors, 
is  in  danger  of  being  regarded  as  an  assault  on  the  political  institu- 
tions of  the  country.  The  apostate  church  has  but  to  call  for  the  aid 
of  the  kingdom  to  which  she  has  bound  herself,  and  dungeons  open 
and  chains  are  rattled  before  the  adventurous  evangelist,  to  deter  his 
temerity.  And  if,  strong  in  the  simple  faith  of  the  gospel,  he  perse- 
veres and  suifers,  though  with  the  heart  of  a  martyr,  it  is  with  the 
infamy  of  a  rebel.  On  the  other  hand,  do  the  devoted  ministers  of  a 
purer  establishment,  that  of  England,  for  instance,  seek  to  commend 
the  true  gospel  to  those  churches  who  have  declined  from  its  doc- 
trines and  its  holiness,  their  enterprise  is  regarded  with  malignity, 
and  with  the  continual  suspicion  that  it  shrouds  political  designs  in 
favor  of  the  country  from  which  they  come,  and  that  the  garb  of  the 
herald  of  the  cross  covers  the  designs  of  the  spy  or  the  political 
emissary.  All  the  crimes,  too,  and  usurpations  of  the  Christian 
country,  —  and  from  these  what  political  power  is  free  ?  —  will  be 
charged,  by  the  strangers  whom  the  missionary  visits,  on  his  church,  if 
endowed  and  established  by  the  nation. 

Yet,  amid  all  these  disadvantages,  the  British  government  has 
lately  planted  a  missionary  bishop  beyond  its  own  proper  territories, 
having  his  seat  at  Jerusalem.  By  the  mandate  accompanying  his 
appointment,  it  is  understood  that  his  jurisdiction  is  defined  as  em- 
bracing the  countries  of  Syria,  Chaldea,  Egypt,  and  Assyria.  As  in 
these  territories,  great  as  may  be  the  amount  of  her  commerce  and 
the  number  of  her  travellers,  Britain  yet  owns  not  a  foot  of  soil,  and 
in  all  of  these  countries  nominal  Christian  churches  exist,  the  prece- 
dent seems  one  that  should  have  its  weight  with  some  who  are  in- 
clined to  condemn,  as  intrusive  and  unwarrantable,  all  interference 
by  one  Christian  church  with  the  territory  of  another  community, 
claiming  to  believe  the  same  gospel.    To  sanction  as  Christian  all 


INTRODUCTION.  29 

that  chooses  to  call  itself  by  that  honored  name,  is  to  canonize  the 
bats  that  cluster  around  some  time-honored  cathedral,  and  claim  it 
as  their  home.  It  is  to  relinquish  one  of  the  first  principles  of  the 
Reformation,  and  condemn,  as  rash  innovators  and  schismatics,  men 
who  have  died  the  martyr's  death,  and  have  hitherto  been  remem- 
bered as  wearing  the  martyr's  crown. 

In  our  own  favored  land,  with  no  establishment  for  any  sect,  and 
protection  for  all,  no  Christian  church  can  hedge  around  any  portion 
of  our  territory  as  her  inheritance,  and  forbid  all  trespassing  on  the 
deserts  she  guards.  Each  with  an  equal  right  to  proselyte,  and  each 
laboring  side  by  side,  Truth  has  all  the  advantages  she  asks,  and 
Falsehood  is  stripped  of  that  adventitious  patronage  from  the  state, 
which  she  has  no  right  to  ask.  Upon  the  same  principles,  it  would 
seem,  all  purer  Christian  churches  —  those  established  by  the  state,  or 
those  independent  of  it,  whether  endowed  by  government,  or  whether 
left  portionless,  except  of  the  promises  of  Christ  and  the  grace  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  —  must  claim  to  labor  when  they  enter  the  territory  cov- 
ered by  a  church  whose  Christianity  is  but  nominal  or  declining.  If 
rejecting  the  principle  at  home,  where  they  are  endowed  by  the 
state,  they  must  adopt  the  principle  when  attempting  labors  in  a 
foreign  state.  And  thus  do  really  evangelical  churches,  now  en- 
dowed by  the  state,  find  themselves,  in  their  missionary  zeal,  com- 
pelled to  renounce  one  of  the  foundations  of  an  establishment,  the 
right  of  a  government  to  provide  the  religion  of  the  nation.  The 
universal  diffusion  of  a  missionary  spirit,  in  regard  to  churches  hav- 
ing but  a  nominal  Christianity,  would  ultimately  undermine  all  es- 
tablished Christian  churches ;  a  result  its  earlier  advocates  never 
perhaps  contemplated,  —  a  result  from  which  many  of  its  friends 
would  as  yet  shrink. 

That  most  were  to  be  hoped  from  a  movement  towards  reforma- 
tion, emanating  from  the  bosom  of  such  a  declining  church  itself,  is 
agreed  by  all.  And  for  such  men  to  rise  out  of  the  midst  of  the  sur- 
rounding moral  desolation,  as  Luther  and  Zuingle  sprung  up  amid 
the  darkness  of  Romanism,  the  Christians  of  our  time  should  fer- 
vently pray.  Yet  when  such  a  movement  does  not  appear,  and  a 
f illen  church  gives  no  token  of  awaking,  it  is  neither  forbidden  by 
Scripture  nor  by  the  rights  of  nations,  that  the  citizens  of  a  more 
favored  country  should  use  their*  personal  influence  to  evangelize  the 
inhabitants  of  another  less  enlightened  land.  No  statutes  can  abro- 
gate the  privileges  of  our  common  brotherhood,  and  when  the  rising 
faith  of  the  church,  sweeping  over  the  metes  and  bounds  of  national 
division,  shall  pour  its  waters  into  lands  now  diked  and  guarded  by 
an  established  church,  the  government,  however  mighty  its  resources, 
or  eager  in  its  vigilance,  or  cruel  in  its  enactments,  that  should  seek 
to  bid  back  the  swelling  flood,  will  be  as  wisely  employed  as  the 
king  who  eluded  the  rising  billows  for  laving  his  royal  feet ;  and  we 
may  add,  it  will  be  employed  as  successfully.  A  mightier  voice  has 
issued  its  decree,  that  the  uttermost  parts  of  our  world  shall  be  the 
3* 


30  INTRODUCTION. 

possession  of  Christ ;  and  that  the  deluge  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  shall  cover  the  face  of  the  whole  earth. 

7.  The  duties  imposed  upon  the  Protestant  churches,  by  the  reviv- 
ing zeal  of  Romanism,  and  its  rival  missions,  planted,  as  many  of 
those  more  recently  established  are,  seemingly  where  they  might  best 
check  the  missions  of  Protestantism,  furnish  another  subject  of  in- 
quiry. In  the  Sandwich  Islands,  as  in  Syria  and  in  Persia,  the  in- 
fluence of  the  French  government  has  been  employed  to  foster 
Romish^  priests  and  colleges,  one  of  whose  chief  designs  seems  to 
be  to  snatch  from  the  hands  of  Protestant  Christians  a  missionary 
work  in  which  they  have  labored  long,  and  in  some  of  these  fields 
with  the  richest  blessing.  The  apostate  church,  that,  in  the  days  of 
Napoleon,  seemed  to  many  of  the  Protestants  of  Europe  sold  to  a 
captivity  from  which  there  could  be  no  return,  and  bowed  down 
under  a  decrepitude  never  to  be  remedied  by  any  skill,  has  displayed 
a  vigor  and  enterprise  alike  astonishing  to  its  friends  and  its  foes. 
The  church,  of  which  La  M ennais  spoke  not  long  since  as  having  the 
dust  of  the  sepulchre  on  its  mute  lips,  is  lifting  up  anew  that  voice, 
whose  anathema  once  shook  thrones,  and  its  tones  are  not  tremulous, 
though  now  it  utters  admonitions  where  once  it  pronounced  its  in- 
terdicts. The  restoration  of  the  Jesuit  order,  the  most  able  and  un- 
faltering champions  the  Romish  see  has  ever  had,  seems  now  be- 
ginning to  be  felt,  not  only  in  the  work  of  education,  but  in  that  of 
missions  also.  They  are  planting  their  colleges  in  our  own  western 
world,  and  in  the  mountains  of  Syria,  in  Protestant  England  as  in 
Catholic  Ireland.  The  last  Provincial  Council  of  the  Romish  church 
in  the  United  States  placed  all  the  Indian  missions  in  this  country 
under  the  charge  of  that  order,  and  fathers  of  the  order  of  Loyola 
are  now  laboring  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  has  been  said 
that  all  the  Romish  missions  throughout  the  globe  have  recently 
been  placed  by  the  Roman  pontiff  in  the  hands  of  the  same  body. 
However  this  may  be,  certain  it  is  that  the  great  mission  seminary 
at  Rome,  the  Propaganda,  has  been  committed  to  them  as  instruc- 
tors,* and  thus  they  are  intrusted  with  shaping  the  character  and 
prescribing  the  doctrinal  sentiments  of  the  more  able  and  influential 
among  the  rising  missionaries. 

The  rapid  increase  given,  within  the  last  few  years,  to  the  chief 
Romish  body  for  the  support  of  missions,  the  Society  at  Lyons,  is 
certainly  not  among  the  least  remarkable  signs  of  the  times.  Wise- 
man, in  1836,  spoke  of  the  sum  raised  by  this  institution  in  1834,  as 
being  then  less  than  that  received  by  "  the  poorest  of  the  English 
missionary  societies  "  of  the  Protestant  churches,f  while  the  annual 
income  of  the  Propaganda,  as  he  stated,  did  not  reach  £30,000,  and 
out  of  that  sum  its  one  hundred  students  were  to  be  educated.  The 
receipts  of  the  Lyons  Society,  for  1840,  were  $484,000,  or  nearly 


*  Dublin  Review,  1842. 

t  He  estimates  it  in  that  year  at  404,727  francs — Lecture  on  Doct.  and  Prac.  of 
Cath.  Ch.  i.  176. 


INTRODUCTION.  31 

2,500,000  francs.  This  does  not  represent  the  whole  amount  of  its 
expenditures,  for  having  on  hand,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year, 
802,941  francs,  its  whole  funds  for  the  year  were  3,276,519  francs,  or 
about  $649,000,  and  the  total  of  its  expenditures  was  about  $528,000. 
The  society  issues  the  "  Annals  of  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,"  of 
which  journal  it  prints  120,000  copies,  in  seven  languages.  Well 
may  it  seem  to  a  zealous  Romanist,  as  it  is  styled  by  De  Geramb, 
the  abbot  of  La  Trappe,  "  the  most  useful  enterprise  of  which  the 
church  in  these  latter  days  can  boast"  It  gathers  its  funds  mostly  in 
very  small  amounts,  and  from  the  poorer  classes ;  and  to  induce  the 
more  free  contributions  of  the  faithful,  those  giving  regularly  to  it 
receive  the  merit  of  its  good  works.* 

To  these  renewed  efforts  in  the  field  of  foreign  missions,  the  church 
of  Rome  has  been  stimulated  in  part,  perhaps,  by  its  endeavors  to 
discredit  Protestantism.  The  earlier  assailants  of  the  Reformed 
churches  were  accustomed  to  name  among  the  evidences  of  the 
divine  right  of  their  own  Romish  church,  its  being  the  only  mission- 
ary body.  Now  they  must  content  themselves  with  laboring  to 
prove  that  theirs  are  the  more  successful  labors.  Wiseman,  accord- 
ingly, in  a  course  of  sermons  preached  in  London,  during  Lent,  in 
the  year  1836,  devoted  two  lectures  to  an  examination  of  the  relative 
resources  and  results  of  the  Catholic  and  Protestant  missions.  He 
would  fain  show  that  as  to  the  laborers,  the  wealth  and  numbers  are 
with  us  ;  as  to  converts,  the  success  is  almost  exclusively  with  them. 
Any  intelligent  Protestant,  who  refers  to  his  pages,  will  detect  the 
grossly  prejudiced  and  partial  estimate  which  he  has  formed  of  some 
most  successful  endeavors  of  Protestant  Christians  for  the  heathen, 
and  discrepancies  between  his  diminished  amount  of  Romish  labor 
and  expenditure,  and  the  accounts  elsewhere  given  by  Roman  Cath- 
olic authorities. 

That  the  number  of  nominal  adherents  won  by  their  earlier  or  more 
recent  labors  to  the  religion  of  Christ  is  great,  may  be  readily  allowed. 
That  there  have  been  among  the  missionaries  of  this  corrupt  church 
men  of  singular  disinterestedness,  ability,  and  devotedness,  it  were 
equally  ungenerous  and  unjust  to  dispute.  But  the  modes  to  which 
they  have  resorted  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  proselytes,f  and  the 


*  "  A  small  alms  and  a  short  prayer  are  alone  required  to  entitle  its  members  to 
have  a  share  in  the  merits  of  those  missionaries  who  expose  themselves  to  so  many 
dangers  and  suffer  so  many  privations."  —  Oeramb's  Visit  to  Rome,  p.  54.  —  Am.  Ed. 

t  Massie,  a  Protestant  missionary,  in  his  recent  work,  entitled  "  Continental  In- 
dia," gives  the  following  account  of  the  modes  of  presenting  the  gospel  adopted  by  a 
contemporary  Romish  missionary  :  — 

"  I  have  consulted  a  Jesuit  priest,  who  has  spent  thirty  years  in  India :  he  was 
clothed  in  the  native  costume  —  his  head  covered  by  a  large  shawl  as  his  turban  — 
his  legs  bare,  and  his  feet  shod  with  sandals  —  his  body-clothes  of  the  Indian  pun- 
jam  ;  his  gray  beard  finely  flowing  over  his  breast,  his  manners  corresponding  with 
the  native  habit,  his  food  the  diet  of  the  Brahmins,  and  in  his  public  instructions  avoid- 
ing every  topic  that  would  offend  the  prejudices  of  caste  ;  becoming  all  things  to  all 
men  to  such  a  degree,  that  he  would  not  permit  the  sensitive  Hindoos  to  know  that  the 
prodigal's  father  had  killed  Hie  fatted  calf,  or  that  the  Mosaic  law  prescribed  the  sacrifice  of 
bulls  and  goats,  and  would  not  inform  them  that  Jesus  was  a  carpenter's  son,  and  his  disci- 
ples fishermen  of  Oalilee."    (Massie,  vol.  ii.  page  87,  London,  1840.)     It  is  a  curious 


32  INTRODUCTION. 

principles  and  practices  in  which  multitudes  of  those  proselytes  have^ 
been  trained,  show  sufficiently  that,  in  some  countries  at  least,  the 
world  is  not  greatly  the  debtor  of  such  evangelists,  and  leave  reason 
to  fear  that  among  vast  multitudes,  so  gathered  into  the  number  of 
Christ's  professed  disciples,  there  would  be  few  whom  he  would  rec- 
ognize as  such  were  he  to  return  to  our  world,  few  whom  he  will 
acknowledge  in  the  day  of  judgment.  When,  as  on  the  Orinooko, 
and  also  in  California,  they  encouraged  or  connived  at  forays  made 
by  their  Indian  converts  into  the  heathen  tribes  for  the  purpose  of 
bringing  in  as  captives  women  and  children  to  be  made  Christians, 
we  cannot  think  very  favorably  either  of  the  teacher  or  the  proselyte. 
As  to  their  converts  in  India,  setting  aside  the  testimony  of  Dubois, 
to  which  reference  has  already  been  made,  one  of  their  missionary 
prelates  in  that  country  has  in  our  own  times  used  strong  language, 
when  declaring  that  their  "  proselytes  have  rather  become  so  by  cas- 
ualty than  through  preaching.  In  ordinary  cases,  the  hope  of  bettering 
their  condition  induces  them  to  become  converts  to  Christianity."  *  We 
cannot  form  a  much  more  favorable  opinion  of  the  spirituality  of  the 
religion  they  planted  in  the  far-famed  missions  of  Paraguay,  when 
we  hear  one  of  the  missionaries,  who  had  long  labored  there,  and  left 
it  only  on  the  suppression  and  exile  of  his  order,  Dobrizhoffer,  declar- 
ing, with  a  simplicity  and  candor  that,  however  characteristic  of  the 
man,  were  scarce  to  have  been  expected  in  a  Jesuit  father,  "  If,  ac- 
cording to  St  Paul,  amongst  other  nations  faith  enters  by  the  ear, 
with  the  savages  of  Paraguay  it  can  oidy  be  thrust  in  by  the  mouth. 
Hence  our  anxiety  lest  cattle  should  fail  us."  f  And  elsewhere  he 
says,  "  The  most  eloquent  teacher  of  God's  word  will  do  but  little 
good  in  Paraguay,  unless  he  be  liberal  in  clothing  and  feeding  his 
disciples."  J     Our  Lord  rejected  the  disciples  of  the  loaves,  because 

instance  of  the  meeting  of  extremes,  that  rationalism  anil  Romanism  agree  in  the 
importance  they  attach  to  the  principle  of  accommodation  in  the  interpretation  and 
dissemination  of  the  gospel.  German  neology  uses  it  to  take  out  of  the  teaching  of 
Christ  and  his  apostles  every  unpalatable  doctrine,  supposing  that  in  seeming  to 
assent  to  such  doctrine,  the  Savior  only  accommodated  himself  to  the  prejudices  of 
his  hearers.  The  Romish  system,  on  the  other  hand,  uses  the  same  principle  as  an 
excuse  for  bringing  into  the  religion  of  Christ  every  indigenous  superstition  it  may 
find  in  the  country  where  it  laliors.  A  principle  that  can  thus,  on  one  side,  empty 
the  Scriptures  of  all  the  truths  peculiar  to  them,  and,  on  the  other,  pour  into  those 
Scriptures  every  invention  and  tradition  of  paganism,  is  too  pliable  to  be  a  rule  of 
interpretation.  "  It  gives  every  reader  of  the  New  Testament  the  right  of  making  his 
own  gospel,  to  his  own  liking.  Coleridge  speaks  of  the  scholar  who  lettered  a  vol- 
ume of  Soeiaian  tracts  with  the  title  "  finery  man  kit  mm  Savior."  This  nil.',  as  to 
Understanding  and  imparting  the  gospel,  would  be,  virtually,  "  Eccry  man  author  of  his 
own  Revelation.'1'' 

*  Letter  of  F.  A.  Pezzoni,  bishop  of  Esbonen,  dated  Agra,  20  Aug.,  1832.  Wolff's 
Researches  and  Missionary  Labors,  from  1831  to  1834.  Philadelphia,  1837,  p.  213. 
Wolff  gives  the  original  Italian  at  page  906.  In  Read's  Memoirs  of  Babajee,  we  need 
not  therefore  wonder  to  find  it  said,  though  here  it  is  Protestant  authority,  "The 
vast  numbers  of  Hindoos  and  Mussulmans  converted  by  the  Romanists  differ  but 
little  from  their  heathen  neighbors,  except  that,  having  thrown  off  the  few  restraints 
which  caste  and  superstition  imposed,  they  enjoy  greater  license  to  indulge  in  all 
kinds  of  vice."  —  Christian  Brahmin,  i.  27. 

f  Dobrizhoffer,  Account  of  the  Abipones,  iii.  391. 

X  Ibid.  ii.  134.  The  work  of  Dobrizhoffer  was  published  in  Latin  by  the  author. 
An  English  translation  appeared  at  London,  made  by  a  daughter  of  Coleridge,  the 
poet,  who,  in  some  of  his  works,  speaks  with  paternal  pride  of  the  merits  of  style  in 


INTRODUCTION.  33 

they  followed  him  merely  to  be  fed.  This  church  would  seem  to 
hail  them  as  converts,  whatever  be  their  motives.  A  recent  trav- 
eller, Forbes,  in  his  account  of  the  missions  of  California,  while  aim- 
ing to  exalt  them  at  the  expense  of  what  he  terms  "  the  Methodist 
and  Calvinist  missions,"  yet  describes  the  Indians  as  degraded, 
wretched,  and  servile.  Even  the  language  of  Southey,  when  paint- 
ing the  missions  of  Paraguay  in  glowing  hues,  contains  admissions 
which  show  sufficiently  that  the  type  of  character  produced  was  not 
that  favorable  to  the  best  interests  of  the  race.* 

As  to  the  character  of  the  laborers  themselves,  upon  whom  Roman- 
ism has  leaned  in  the  work  of  proselytism,  it  would  be  unjust  to  for- 
get the  many  who  have  encountered  fearful  peril,  privation,  and 
death  in  its  most  terrific  forms  with  a  constancy  and  meek  courage 
that  the  men  of  a  purer  faith  might  well  envy.  Of  their  earlier 
laborers  in  China,  Milne  has  said,  "  The  learning,  personal  virtues, 
and  ardent  zeal  of  some  of  them  deserve  to  be  imitated  by  all  future 
missionaries ;  will  be  equalled  by  few,  and  perhaps  rarely  exceeded 
by  any."f 

In  our  days,  their  missionaries  and  converts  in  Cochin-China  have 
been  called  to  endure  trials  issuing,  in  some  cases,  in  fearful  martyr- 
dom, and  their  faith  has  not  faltered.{  Yet,  as  early  as  the  middle 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  the  missions  of  Rome  were  in  their 
glory  and  strength,  the  Jesuit  Acosta  holds  language  with  regard  to 
the  missionaries,  that  has  been  quoted  by  Baxter,§  and  which  suffi- 
ciently shows  the  want  of  spirituality  in  many  of  these  evangelists 
of  the  heathen.  In  the  latter  portion  of  the  next  century,  were  found, 
among  the  emissaries  of  the  church  to  India,  such  men  as  the  mis- 
sionary bishop  of  Halicarnassus,  who  headed  a  troop  of  two  thousand 
Mahrattas,  plundered  villages,  and  shared  the  booty  with  his  soldiers. 
It  was  this  edifying  personage  to  whom,  as  Voltaire  tells  us,  Lalli, 
the  French  general,  was  accustomed  to  say,  "  My  good  bishop,  how 
have  ycu  contrived  to  escape  hanging  ? "  ||  Of  the  arts  they  have 
used,  the  world  has  already  heard  too  much,  in  their  eastern  and  their 


the  version.  It  was  reviewed  in  the  London  Quarterly,  apparently  by  Southey,  at 
much  length,  and  furnished  him  also  with  the  incidents  of  his  "Tale  of  Paraguay," 
in  which  he  speaks  warmly  of  the  interest  of  the  work,  and  the  character  of  the 
writer. 

*  "  They  on  the  Jesuit,  who  was  nothing  loath, 
Reposed  alike  their  conscience  and  their  cares  j 
And  he,  with  equal  faith,  the  trust  of  both 
Accepted  and  discharged.    The  bliss  is  theirs 
Of  that  entire  dependence,  that  prepares 
Entire  submission,  let  what  may  befall  : 
And  his  whole  careful  course  of  life  declares 
That  for  their  good  he  holds  them  thus  in  thrall, 
Their  father  and  their  friend,  priest,  ruler,  all  in  all." 

Tale  of  Para^tiay,  Canto  IV. 

T  Medhurst's  China,  p.  203. 

|  This  persecution  commenced  in  1833.    Already  400  churches  have  been  destroyed 
by  it.  —  fVLcman. 

$  Works,  Orme's  Ed.,  vol.  ii.  23. 

(]  Voltaire,  Fragm.  Historiq.  sur  l'Inde,  xiii.  xv. 


34  INTRODUCTION. 

v 
western  fields  of  labor.  The  amount  of  wrong  thus  done  to  the 
cause  of  Christ  and  the  souls  of  men  is  incalculable.  The  world  has 
been  flattered  and  humored  into  a  religion  that  left  its  worst  super- 
stitions often  entirely  untouched,  and  but  threw  the  crucifix  and  the 
scapular  over  the  neck,  while  the  heart  surrendered  none  of  its  old 
idols,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  renewing  grace  of  God.  And  even 
in  the  best  of  both  teachers  and.  proselytes,  there  was  a  reliance  on 
human  merit,  and  an  appeal  to  self-righteousness,  that  made  priva- 
tion, torture,  and  even  death,  welcome,  because  it  was  supposed  that 
they  gave  claims  on  heaven. 

It  is  a  gratifying  circumstance,  that,  amid  its  increased  zeal  for 
foreign  missions,  the  hold  of  the  Romish  see  on  some  of  its  home  pos- 
sessions seems  evidently  loosened.  Spain  herself,  and  the  countries 
speaking  the  Spanish  language,  are  no  longer  governed  by  the  Pon- 
tiff with  that  stern  and  unquestioned  sway  which  he  once  exercised. 
It  may  yet  be  the  policy  of  Protestantism  to  carry  "  the  war  into 
Africa,"  by  missionary  efforts,  for  the  benefit  of  southern  Europe  and 
South  America,  thus  retaliating,  in  her  own  ancient  dominions,  the 
attempted  inroads  of  the  Romish  see  on  the  fields  of  Protestant  mis- 
sions. That  the  Reformation  should  have  been  checked  and  crushed 
as  it  was  in  Spain  and  Italy,  was  among  the  mysterious  dispensa- 
tions of  Providence.  Hindrances  then  existing  are  lessened,  if  not 
entirely  removed,  in  our  day. 

Meanwhile,  the  evident  duty  of  Protestant  Christians  is  to  emulate 
all  of  zeal,  and  energy,  and  enterprise,  and  self-denial,  that  may  be 
exhibited  in  the  past  or  present  movements  of  the  Romish  missions. 
The  issue  of  the  conflict  cannot  be  doubtful,  for  prophecy  has  sealed 
the  fate  of  that  antichristian  church.  She  has  herself  pronounced 
her  own  doom,  by  setting  herself  so  madly  against  the  word  of  God. 
It  is  to  the  undue  veneration  fortius,  and  the  unwise  employment  of  it, 
that  Wiseman,  in  his  laborious  comparison  of  the  missions  of  the  rival 
communions,  ascribes  the  failure  he  imagines  himself  to  have  discov- 
ered in  the  missionary  efforts  of  the  Reformed  churches.     "The 

BLESSING  OF  HEAVEN  IS  NOT  UPON  THE  WORK,  NOR  HIS  APPROBA- 
TION UPON  THE  PRINCIPLE, THE  ALL-SUFFICIENCY  OF  THE  WRIT- 
TEN word."  *  The  strong  language  in  which  the  bulls  of  the  Vati- 
can have,  in  recent  years,  condemned  the  movements  of  the  Bible 
Society,  the  mingling  of  inveterate  dislike  and  ill-disguised  alarm 
that  breathe  through  these  documents,  whenever  they  touch  upon 
the  free  dissemination  of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  share  which  their 
love  and  reverence  for  the  Scriptures,  and  their  desire  for  its  study 
by  each  private  Christian,  had  in  bringing  down  upon  the  Jansenists 


*  Wiseman.  Lsct.  on  Doct.  and  Prac.  i.  169.  In  the  same  spirit,  Judson  and  his 
heroic  wife,  whose  nam1;  is  an  honor  to  her  country  and  sex,  are  spoken  of  as  "  these 
simple  persons,"  for  laboring  to  translate  the  whole  Bible  into  Burman  ;  and  their 
mission  is  pronounced  "  a  complete  failure."  We  question  whether  the  Catholic 
missionaries,  who,  according  to  his  own  showing,  commenced  their  labors  in  Bur- 
mah  in  1719,  more  than  a  century  since,  can  show  any  results  to  be  compared  with 
those  of  the  labors  of  the  Judsons. 


INTRODUCTION.  35 

the  overwhelming  condemnation  pronounced  upon  them  by  the 
famed  bull  Unigenitus,  suggests  some  significant  lessons.  They 
prove  very  conclusively  that  Rome  knows,  as  one  of  her  most  vul- 
nerable points,  her  denial  of  the  Scriptures  to  the  laity,  and  dreads, 
as  the  most  dangerous  of  her  assailants,  those  who  translate  and  dis- 
tribute, and  by  their  unwearied  preaching  commend,  the  written  word 
of  God  to  the  nations.  In  one  of  those  apocryphal  tales  which  this 
church  has  introduced  into  the  canon  of  Revelation,  the  prophet 
Daniel  is  described  as  poisoning  the  idol  god  of  Babylon  with  some 
strange  compound.  The  fable  seems  one  in  which  Rome  has  fore- 
shadowed her  own  fate.  Not  by  the  force  of  persecution,  —  not  by 
the  aid  of  laws,  and  battles,  and  treaties,  —  not  by  the  rise  of  some  new 
Cromwell,  the  cannon  of  whose  navies  shall  shake  the  Vatican  as 
once  did  those  of  his  Admiral  Blake,  —  not  by  the  appearance  of 
some  new  Gustavus,  asserting  the  liberties  of  the  Protestant  North  at 
the  head  of  his  martial  squadrons  on  the  fields  of  some  new  Lutzen, 
—  not  by  the  reappearance  of  Bourbon,  conducting  again  his  Ger- 
man troops  to  the  sack  of  the  sacred  city,  or  of  Bonaparte,  sending 
his  infidel  Frenchmen  to  lead  the  successor  of  Peter  in  captivity,  — 
but  by  the  simple  Scriptures,  the  idol  of  the  prophetical  Babylon  is 
yet  to  fall.  Truth  shall  poison  the  dragon.  The  Lord,  "  by  the 
breath  of  his  mouth?  shall  consume  Antichrist.  By  setting  herself 
in  this  determined  hostility  against  the  use  of  the  Scriptures  of  God, 
the  Romish  church  has  inserted  her  name  in  the  same  list  with  those 
of  Antiochus  under  the  old,  and  Dioclesian  under  the  new  dispensa- 
tion, who  in  like  manner  sought  to  extirpate  the  book  of  God.  She 
has  ascertained  her  character,  she  has  decided  her  fate. 

Imbedded  as  that  book  has  become  in  the  literature  of  the  world,  — 
translated,  as  even  in  our  own  times  it  has  been,  into  all  the  chief 
dialects  of  the  globe,  —  it  is  beyond  the  reach  of  her  endeavors.  Its 
past  victories  are,  to  the  most  careless  observer,  the  pledge  of  its 
future  conquests.  It  smote  Jove  on  the  summit  of  his  shadowy 
Olympus ;  and  the  gods  of  classic  mythology,  the  rabble  of  their  Pan- 
theon, vanished  before  its  sacred  might.  It  smote  the  Odin  and  the 
Thor  of  our  forefathers  in  northern  Europe,  and  routed  the  phantoms 
of  the  Valhalla.  Even  thus  shall  it  smite,  in  its  irresistible  energy, 
the  gods  of  all  nations  ;  and  be  seen,  at  last,  the  literature  of  all  lands 
doing  it  homage,  exalted  above  all  other  volumes,  traditions,  and  laws, 
as  the  history  of  the  world's  one  Redeemer,  the  law  that  giveth  life, 
the  book  of  God. 

In  the  remarks  which  have  been  made,  it  will  be  observed,  that  we 
have  not  generally  taken  up  the  topics  suggested  by  our  author.  The 
amount  of  effort  due  to  the  Jews  is,  for  instance,  an  inquiry  proposed 
by  him,  to  which  we  have  not  referred.  The  questions  thus  to  be 
settled  are  many  and  grave.  We  have  but  cursorily  noticed  a  few 
that,  from  various  causes,  have  interested  us.  It  has  not  been  with 
the  hope  of  throwing  much  light  upon  them.  But,  as  in  the  mission- 
ary enterprise,  the  contributions  of  the  Sabbath-school  child  and  the 
humble  offering  of  the  widow  are  cast  together  into  the  treasury,  so 


36  INTRODUCTION.  V 

must  it  be  in  settling  the  policy  of  that  enterprise.  The  missionary 
work  is  eminently,  in  all  its  departments,  a  collective  and  a  cumula- 
tive one.  These  reflections,  thrown  out  amid  the  pressure  of  other 
engagements,  are  cast,  as  of  old  the  soldiers  cast  each  man  his  stone 
on  the  grave  of  some  fallen  chieftain.  Gradually  the  heap  became  a 
monument,  not  only  towering  over  the  plain  around,  but  a  sea-mark 
eyed  by  the  voyager  on  the  distant  waters.  Every  mite  given,  every 
inquiry  made  as  to  our  own  means  of  aiding  the  enterprise,  every 
prayer  breathed  for  its  success,  goes  to  swell  the  amount  of  interest 
felt  in  that  cause  of  missions  which  must  be  dear  to  the  philanthro- 
pist, the  patriot,  and  the  Christian,  —  goes  towards  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  promises  which  assure  us  of  its  final  triumph,  in  bringing 
the  world  again  into  obedience  to  its  Maker  and  God. 

W.  R.  W. 


THE    GREAT    COMMISSION 


PART  I. 


THE    MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE    VIEWED    IN    ITS    RELA- 
TION    TO    THE    WORD    OF    GOD. 


CHAPTER    I 


THE  SCRIPTURE  THEORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTAL- 
ITY FOR  THE  EVANGELIZATION  OF  THE  WORLD 
STATED     AND     EXPLAINED. 

I.  Mutual  dependence  and  influence  is  the  law  of  the 
universe.  Look  in  whatever  direction  and  examine  what- 
ever object  we  may,  we  find  nothing  insulated  and  alone. 
From  the  globe  we  inhabit,  and  which  is  one  of  a  visible 
community  of  worlds,  up  to  the  great  sidereal  system,  the 
whole  of  which  is  apparently  moving  together  through  space, 
and  down  to  the  minutest  atom  that  floats  in  the  air,  all  are 
bound  together,  and  constantly  acting  on  each  other,  by  defi- 
nite and  universal  laws.  The  body  of  the  reader  and  the 
book  which  he  is  reading  are  held,  by  gravitation,  in  union 
with  the  remotest  parts  of  the  created  system  ;  while  the 
material  influences  constantly  transmitted  from  the  most 
distant  regions  of  space  place  them  in  physical  contact  with 
the  universe. 

In  this  literal  dependence  of  every  part  of  the  material 
economy  on  every  other  part,  we  behold  an  image  of  the 
4 


38  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

reciprocal  action  and  mutual  relation  of  all  animated  being. 
Here,  each  is  connected  with  all  —  and  the  whole  to  God. 
Here,  in  the  absence  of  sin,  we  behold  the  sublime  spectacle 
of  the  infinitely  blessed  God  surrounded  by  distinct  orders  of 
sentient,  happy  beings ;  so  various  as  to  reach  from  the  arch- 
angel down  to  the  insect,  yet  so  closely  related,  as  parts  of  a 
mighty  whole,  that  no  single  member  can  be  detached  and 
made  independent  of  the  rest ;  while  the  well-being  of  each 
is  an  ingredient  in  the  happiness  of  the  whole ;  and  all,  ac- 
cording to  their  respective  natures,  ascribe  glory  to  Him, 
their  centre  and  their  source,  by  whom  they  are  alike  per- 
vaded, and  in  whom  they  are  all  one. 

That  this  interdependence,  as  far  as  it  relates  to  the  hu- 
man family,  is  part  of  an  original  plan,  is  obvious.  By  cre- 
ating, at  first,  one  common  father  of  the  species,  the  Almighty 
designed  that  each  individual  should  stand  related  to  all  the 
rest,  and  feel  himself  pledged  to  promote  their  happiness. 
By  rendering  us  neeessary  to  each  other's  welfare,  he  sought 
to  train  us  up  to  an  humble  imitation  of  his  own  goodness,  to 
make  every  hand  and  heart  a  consecrated  channel  for  his 
love  to  flow  in,  and  thus  to  find  our  own  happiness  in  the 
happiness  of  others.  In  such  a  state,  he  who  approached 
nearest  to  the  pattern  of  the  Divine  Benevolence  would  ne- 
cessarily have  been  the  object  of  the  greatest  admiration; 
and  as  admiration  leads,  by  a  law  of  our  nature,  to  imitation, 
men  would  have  been  always  advancing  towards  higher  and 
higher  degrees  of  perfection.  Inferior  excellence  being  con- 
stantly drawn  upwards  by  the  strong  moral  attraction  of  that 
which  was  above  it,  a  process  of  assimilation  to  the  blessed 
God  would  have  been  perpetually  going  on,  which  would 
have  rendered  earth  a  copy  of  heaven. 

The  connection,  then,  subsisting  between  them,  would  have 
been  one,  not  merely  of  mutual  dependence,  but  of  recipro- 
cal influence.  And  this  moral  influence  it  is  which  would 
have  invested  their  mutual  relation  with  so  much  impor- 
tance. Could  we  have  looked  down  upon  them,  we  should 
have  seen  that  every  word  uttered  projected  an  influence ; 
that  every  action  performed  drew  after  it  a  train  of  influ- 
ence ;  that  every  relation  sustained  was  a  line  along  which 
was  constantly  transmitted  a  vital  influence  ;  that  every  indi- 
vidual was  a  centre  ever  radiating  streams  of  living  moral 
influence. 

Could  we  have  selected  one  such  individual,  and  have  in- 


STATED   AND   EXPLAINED.  39 

vestigated  his  moral  history,  we  should  have  found  that,  from 
the  first  moment  of  his  existence,  his  character  went  on  daily 
and  hourly  streaming  with  more  than  electric  fluid — with  a 
subtle,  penetrating  element  of  moral  influence ;  that,  in  what- 
ever society  he  mingled,  he  left  on  their  character,  secret, 
perhaps,  but  not  imperceptible  traces  that  he  had  been 
among  them ;  that  his  influence  operated  involuntarily ;  for 
though  he  might  choose,  in  any  given  instance,  what  he 
would  do,  yet,  having  done  it,  he  could  not  choose  what  in- 
fluence it  should  have ;  that  it  operated  universally ;  never 
terminating  on  himself,  but  extending  to  all  within  his  circle, 
emanating  from  each  of  these  again  as  from  a  fresh  centre, 
and  thus  transmitted  on,  in  silent  but  certain  effect,  to  the 
outermost  circle  of  social  existence ;  that  it  was  indestructi- 
ble, not  a  particle  ever  being  lost,  but  the  whole  of  it  taken 
up  into  the  general  system  of  cause  and  effect,  and  always  in 
operation  somewhere.  And  thus  we  should  have  seen  that, 
though  he  was  apparently  as  isolated  as  a  ship  in  the  midst 
of  the  Atlantic,  the  waves  which  the  motion  of  that  ship  gen- 
erates from  shore  to  shore  were  only  an  image  of  his  ever- 
circling,  widening,  shoreless  influence;  and  that  the  influ- 
ence which  thus  blended  and  bound  him  up  with  the  whole 
race,  invisible  and  impalpable  as  it  is,  is  yet  the  mightiest 
element  of  society,  the  element  wielded  by  God  himself. 

But  then,  if  such  the  relation  and  such  the  distinct  influ- 
ence of  these  holy,  happy  beings,  their  responsibility  for  the 
use  of  that  influence  would  have  been  proportionate.  The 
very  fact  that  God  had  invested  them  with  such  influence 
would,  without  any  verbal  command,  have  been  regarded  by 
them  as  a  sufficient  expression  of  his  will  that  they  must  use 
it  to  the  utmost,  and  for  his  glory.  They  could  not  have 
lived  to  themselves  if  they  would ;  for,  from  the  moment  they 
began  to  live,  their  influence  necessarily  linked  them  to  the 
universe.  And  they  would  not  if  they  could,  for  they  would 
have  found  that  living  to  God  was  usefulness,  excellence,  and 
happiness,  all  in  one.  They  would  have  found  that  not 
more  certainly  is  the  order  of  the  material  world  maintained 
by  the  action  of  matter  upon  matter,  than  the  order  of  the 
moral  world  is  by  the  action  of  mind  upon  mind.  And  un- 
der the  hallowed  influence  of  that  reciprocal  action,  they 
would  have  been  perpetually  brightening  and  rising  into  the 
image  of  God. 

How  far  the  inhabitants  of  the  celestial  world  would  —  on 


40  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

the  hypothesis  of  man  having  retained  his  primal  innocence 
—  have  influenced,  by  intercourse,  the  human  character,  ad- 
mits of  little  more  than  conjecture.  That  He  who  has  united 
distinct  material  worlds  by  indissoluble  bonds,  should  leave 
two  orders  of  holy  intelligences,  both  of  which  had  not  only 
sprung  from  the  same  Fount  of  being,  but  acknowledged  the 
same  laws,  and  exhibited  the  same  paternal  image,  to  pursue 
their  respective  courses  in  perfect  and  unpassable  separation 
from  each  other,  is,  to  say  the  least,  highly  improbable.  That 
the  angelic  "  sons  of  God"  took  a  deep  and  rejoicing  interest 
in  the  creation  of  our  world,  is  fact  of  divine  revelation. 
And  the  scriptural  history  of  the  fall  of  man  leaves  us  to 
infer  that,  if  such  of  the  angelic  order  as  "  kept  not  their 
first  estate  "  had  access  to  the  human  mind  for  purposes  of 
evil,  those  of  them  who  retained  their  original  purity  would 
not  have  been  denied  access  of  a  similar  kind  for  purposes 
of  good.  And  thus  the  intelligent  universe  would  have  ex- 
hibited the  sublime  spectacle  of  distinct  orders  of  holy  beings, 
each  composed  of  innumerable  members,  producing  and  re- 
ceiving continual  modifications  of  character  by  the  mutual 
action  of  all  its  parts  ;  and  that  modification  assimilating  them 
to  the  central  and  solar  glory,  on  whom  they  were  all  alike 
dependent,  and  in  whom  they  were  all  one. 

II.  But  suppose,  it  might  have  been  said  —  suppose  that, 
by  some  dreadful  possibility,  a  principle  of  evil  should  obtain 
entrance  into  this  all-related  system.  If  that  entrance  should 
be  obtained,  first,  indeed,  among  the  members  of  the  human 
order,  it  is  possible  that  the  members  of  the  angelic  order, 
being  less  accessible  to  us  than  we  are  to  them,  might  escape 
the  contagion.  But  if  it  should  obtain,  first,  in  the  higher 
order,  how  likely  is  it  that  it  will  descend  and  be  communi- 
cated, by  intercourse,  to  the  family  of  man  !  In  that  event, — 
the  very  prospect  and  possibility  of  which  appals,  —  the  recip- 
rocal influence  of  mind  on  mind,  mightily  efficacious  as  it  is 
for  good,  may  become  equally  efficacious  for  evil.  One  be- 
ing may  become  the  tempter  of  another.  By  the  union  of 
each  with  all,  the  moral  poison  may  be  taken  up  and  circu- 
lated through  the  whole  social  system.  The  very  first  sin 
would  be  felt  by  all  the  race,  and  to  the  last  moment  of  time. 
If  any  thing  were  then  wanting  to  hasten  and  seal  the  self- 
destruction  of  the  guilty  community,  it  would  be  only  the 
presence  of  some  leading  spirit  who  should  be  competent  to 


STATED   AND   EXPLAINED.  41 

organize  and  work  its  complicated  agencies  on  a  comprehen- 
sive plan.  Should  such  a  consummation  arrive,  how  direful 
the  results  to  those  immediately  involved,  and  how  incalcula- 
ble the  effects  on  the  universe  at  large ! 

Now,  this  hypothetical  case  is  only  a  literal  description  of 
the  history  and  actual  condition  of  the  world.  At  the  time 
of  the  creation  a  principle  of  evil  was  at  large  in  the  universe. 
Satan,  together  with  an  unknown  multitude  of  associate  reb- 
els, having  swerved  from  his  allegiance  to  "  the  blessed  and 
only  Potentate,"  had  been  driven  from  the  immediate  pres- 
ence of  God,  cut  off  from  the  loyal  part  of  the  creation,  and 
doomed  to  be  the  prey  of  his  own  mighty  depravity.  Ac- 
tuated by  that  universal  law  by  which  each  being  and  prin- 
ciple seeks  to  conform  all  things  to  its  own  nature,  and  stim- 
ulated by  implacable  hatred  against  God,  he  came  to  efface 
from  our  world  the  divine  image,  and  to  stamp  his  own  on 
its  breast  instead.  In  the  execution  of  this  dreadful  project 
he  succeeded.  By  no  employment  of  force,  but  by  the  simple 
action  of  mind  on  mind  through  the  medium  of  the  senses, 
Satan  prevailed  on  man  to  sin.  As  the  first  sinner  was  the 
first  man,  human  nature  was  poisoned  in  its  fountain.  The 
first  man  is  sinning  still,  in  effect,  in  each  of  all  his  posterity. 
The  first  sin  is  thrilling  still,  and  will  vibrate  on  through  the 
whole  line  of  being,  till  it  reaches  the  last  of  human  kind. 
How  closely  compacted,  how  vitally  interwoven,  must  be  the 
system  of  our  mutual  dependence,  and  how  mysteriously 
penetrating  and  pervading  the  principle  of  our  reciprocal 
influence,  when  a  single  sin  can  thus  distract  and  derange 
the  whole ! 

Yet  now  it  was  that  man  first  made  the  monstrous  essay  of 
living  to  himself.  As  if  he  had  only  to  withdraw  his  allegi- 
ance from  God  in  order  to  dissolve  relations  with  the  uni- 
verse, selfishness  now  became  the  law  of  his  sinful  being. 
But  such  separation  was  impossible.  Live  to  himself,  in  the 
sense  of  selfish  appropriation,  he  might ;  but  detach  himself 
from  the  relations  of  dependence  and  influence  he  could  not. 
Cease  to  be  the  centre  of  a  hallowed  influence  he  might,  but 
cease  to  be  the  centre  of  all  influence  he  could  not.  From 
the  moment  he  ceased  to  be  a  universal  good,  he  became  a 
universal  evil.  Each  act  of  selfishness  is  the  infliction  of  a 
universal  injury.  And  every  successive  sin  awakens  afresh 
the  echoes  of  the  original  curse.  Not  only  did  our  primary 
4* 


42  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

relations  of  mutual  influence  remain,  —  the  introduction  of  sin 
appears  to  have  stimulated  them  into  preternatural  activity 
and  power.  Every  man  in  effect  became  a  Jeroboam  —  his 
life  laid  a  train  of  evil  for  multitudes,  and  for  ages  to  come. 
His  infantine  hand  could  open  a  floodgate  of  evil  which  the 
arm  of  Omnipotence  alone  could  shut.  His  careless  laugh 
could  do  more  to  counteract  a  moral  principle  than  the  proc- 
lamation of  a  law  could  do  to  enforce  it.  Though  touching 
only  one  point  in  society,  he  could  send  an  impulse  of  evil 
through  the  whole.  While  the  thunders  of  Sinai  soon  died 
away  to  a  whisper  on  the  ear  of  the  world,  many  a  whisper 
of  evil,  as  it  passed  from  lip  to  lip,  waxed  louder  and  louder, 
till  nations  echoed  with  the  sound,  and  distant  ages  received 
its  reverberations  as  possessing  all  the  authority  of  law. 

Parental  influences,  blending  with  the  first  rudiments  of 
infant  being,  tainted  character  in  its  very  source.  Familiar 
intercourse  became  one  of  the  grand  ordinances  of  mutual 
temptation  and  ruin.  Relationships,  calculated  to  circulate 
happiness  through  all  the  veins  of  the  social  system,  were  per- 
verted by  sin  into  so  many  channels  of  destruction.  Tend- 
encies and  influences  of  evil,  which  had  long  been  gathering, 
gradually  assumed  the  definite  and  enduring  form  of  civil 
government,  and  gave  a  character  to  nations ;  from  which, 
again,  as  from  so  many  centres,  they  propagated  their  effects 
through  all  the  globe  and  for  all  time.  Evil  example,  acquir- 
ing the  despotic  power  of  precedent  and  custom,  showed 
itself  stronger  than  any  thing  human  which  could  be  brought 
to  counteract  it ;  tended  to  displace  every  other  power,  and 
claimed  to  reign  alone.  In  a  word,  the  social  principle,  in 
all  its  forms,  entered  into  the  service  of  sin,  and  showed  itself 
mightier  for  evil  than  for  good.  Thrones  and  temples,  col- 
lecting the  scattered  elements  of  evil,  concentrated,  strength- 
ened, and  gave  them  back  again  to  the  world  under  the  sol- 
emn names  of  law  and  religion.  Yes,  religion  itself,  or  that 
at  least  which  bore  the  name,  lived  only  to  aggravate  the  evil, 
and  to  keep  it  in  constant  and  destructive  circulation.  Satan 
became  "  the  god  of  this  world."  Wherever  he  looked,  the 
expanse  was  his  own.  Temptation  in  his  hands  had  become 
a  science,  and  sin  was  taught  by  rule.  The  world  was  for 
him  one  storehouse  of  evil  —  an  armory,  in  which  every  ob- 
ject and  event  ranked  as  a  weapon,  and  all  were  classed  and 
kept  ready  for  service.     He   beheld   the   complicated   ma- 


STATED   AND   EXPLAINED.  43 

chinery  of  evil,  which  his  mighty  malignity  had  constructed, 
in  full  and  efficient  operation,  and  the  whole  resulting  in  a 
vast,  organized,  and  consolidated  empire. 

But  more ;  not  only  did  the  laws  of  our  mutual  influence 
remain,  —  not  only  did  sin  stimulate  them  into  fearful  ac- 
tivity,—  they  increased  in  power  with  each  successive  age. 
The  mechanical  philosophy  informs  us  that,  on  the  principle 
of  the  equality  of  action  and  reaction,  no  motion  impressed 
by  natural  causes,  or  by  human  agency,  is  ever  obliterated. 
No  sound  or  sentiment,  therefore,  which  has  ever  been  uttered, 
is  or.  can  be  lost.  The  pulsations  of  the  air,  which  the  utter- 
ance set  in  motion,  continue  in  their  effect  to  operate  still ;  so 
that  every  sound  or  sentiment  will  be  recoverable  in  the  most 
distant  ages.  No  deed  has  ever  been  performed  without  leav- 
ing behind  it,  on  some  part  of  the  material  universe,  an  inde- 
structible witness  to  its  existence.  Had  any  one  of  all  these 
sentiments  and  deeds  never  been  uttered  or  performed,  cer- 
tain impressions  would  have  been  wanting  from  the  material 
elements  which  they  now  contain ;  so  that  they  form  at  this 
moment  a  minute  and  faithful  record,  to  an  eye  capable  of 
reading  it,  of  all  the  eventful  past.  Their  existing  state  is 
the  complicated  result  of  all  the  impressions  produced  on 
them  from  the  commencement  of  time,  and  presents  to  the 
eye  of  Omniscience  a  vast  book  of  remembrance,  from  whose 
unerring  pages  he  could  read  forth  at  large  the  history  of  the 
world. 

Just  so,  when  the  world  had  existed  four  thousand  years, 
its  moral  condition  was  the  exact  result  of  the  moral  influ- 
ences of  all  the  past ;  for  it  had  received  the  collected  effect 
of  the  whole.  Not  only  are  all  contemporaneous  things  mutu- 
ally influenced  and  connected,  but  there  is  also  a  constant 
increase  in  the  onward  course  and  widening  stream  of  influence 
from  age  to  age.  As  every  generation  owes  some  part  of  its 
character  to  that  which  preceded  it,  so  it  imparts  some  por- 
tion of  its  own  to  that  which  follows  it,  and  thus  propagates 
the  blended  and  augmented  influences  of  itself  and  all  its 
predecessors.  And  this  shows  the  utter  impossibility  there 
was  that  man  himself  should  ever  remedy  his  depraved  condi- 
tion. By  necessity  of  nature,  it  became  worse  and  worse. 
Each  age,  in  succession,  inheriting  the  accumulated  evils 
of  the  past,  and  adding  to  them  something  of  its  own, 
transmitted  the  whole  to  that  which  followed,  and  thus  pro- 
pelled the  world  in  its  downward  course  with  an  ever-aug- 


44  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

meriting  force.  While  the  air  he  breathed  was  only  the 
record  of  the  past,  the  moral  atmosphere  in  which  he  moved, 
from  the  first  moment  of  his  existence  to  the  last,  was  not 
merely  the  record,  but  the  substance,  of  the  past ;  and,  as  such, 
it  was  one  of  the  elememts,  a  part  of  the  material,  out  of 
which  his  character  was  necessarily  formed.  It  was  the 
atmosphere  of  a  pest-house,  and  he  entered  it  not  merely  to 
breathe  the  deadly  infection  of  all  who  had  preceded  him 
there,  but  to  add  to  it  the  infection  of  his  own  disease  for  all 
who  came  after  him.  So  that,  even  then,  when,  compared 
with  the  unity  and  amity  of  heaven,  mankind  presented  the 
aspect  of  mutual  hostility  and  universal  disorganization,  it 
might  most  truly  have  been  said,  in  the  sense  of  relative  in- 
fluence, "  No  man  liveth  to  himself;  "  every  act  of  selfishness 
and  sin  is  the  infraction  of  a  universal  law,  and  as  such  the 
infliction  of  a  universal  evil. 

III.  What,  then,  is  all  lost  ?  Is  the  benevolent  design  of 
God,  in  appointing  the  laws  of  our  reciprocal  dependence  and 
influence,  irretrievably  defeated  ?  Was  the  dreadful  event  of 
its  perversion  unforeseen  and  unprovided  for  1  Has  the  chain 
of  dependence,  which  unites  us  together,  passed  entirely  into 
the  hands  of  the  destroyer,  and  is  it  henceforth  to  be  used 
only  for  dragging  mankind  together  to  perdition  1  If  not, 
where  is  the  remedy  1  What  can  be  the  nature  of  that  plan 
which,  when  all  the  influences  of  earth  have  been  perverted 
to  evil,  can,  without  doing  violence  to  any  original  principle, 
convert  the  whole  into  good  ?  What  can  be  the  nature  of 
that  Being  who,  coming  into  the  midst  of  a  world  where  all 
men  are  laboring  to  live  to  themselves,  can  say,  with  a  power 
which  fulfils  its  own  word,  "  No  man  liveth  to  himself"  ? 
Who  can  arrest  a  world  that  has  broken  away  from  its  proper 
centre,  and  can  return  it  to  its  appointed  orbit  1  —  who  can 
stand  in  the  midst  of  the  great  vortex  of  selfishness,  and  say 
to  the  mighty  maelstroom,  in  the  height  and  fury  of  its  all- 
absorbing  whirl,  "  Flow  to  the  circumference,"  and  say  it  with 
an  effect  which  can  make  it  re*fund  and  float  its  choicest  treas- 
ures to  the  ends  of  the  earth;  in  a  word,  which  can  make 
men,  who  were  their  own  centre  and  circumference,  take  Him 
for  their  centre,  and  for  their  circumference  the  universe? 
What  can  be  the  nature  of  such  a  Being,  and  where  is  he  to 
be  found  1 

"  O  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  the 


STATED   AND   EXPLAINED.  45 

knowledge  of  God  !  "  Not  only  was  the  fearful  catastrophe 
not  unforeseen,  the  event  demonstrated  that  mercy  had  only 
been  waiting  the  moment  of  its  occurrence,  in  order  to  un- 
fold a  plan  which  was  evidently  calculated  on  the  certainty 
of  that  moment  arriving,  —  which  took  advantage  of  all  its 
dreadful  peculiarities,  —  and  of  which  every  subsequent  event 
in  the  divine  economy  has  been  only  a  constituent  part,  and 
every  age  witnessed  the  progressive  fulfilment.  And  still 
more;  not  only  does  the  economy  of  our  redemption  propose 
to  mitigate  the  destructive  tendency  of  our  influence  on  each 
other,  it  actually  presses  that  influence  into  its  own  service, 
and  proposes,  by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  sanctify 
and  employ  it  as  the  chosen  instrumentality  by  which  to  ex- 
pel from  the  earth  the  evils  produced  by  its  perversion ;  till 
every  man  shall  have  once  more  become  what  he  was  prima- 
rily formed  to  be  —  an  agent  of  unmingled  good  to  every  other 
man,  and  the  world  be  restored  to  God.  Without  repealing 
or  deranging  any  of  the  original  relations  or  existing  arrange- 
ments of  nature,  though  they  had  all  been  perverted  into 
means  of  destruction,  a  plan  is  superinduced  which  proposes 
to  turn  all  those  relations  and  arrangements  to  the  highest 
account,  as  the  means  of  his  recovery  ;  to  make  the  chain  of 
our  mutual  dependence  once  more  fast  to  the  throne  of  God. 
The  seat  of  that  plan  was  the  bosom  of  God :  the  essence 
of  that  plan  was,  that  the  highest  influence  in  the  universe 
should  be  imbodied  and  brought  to  bear  on  us ;  an  influence 
emanating  from  Him  who  concentrates  all  the  energies  of 
the  universe  in  himself,  an  influence  streaming  from  the 
open  heart  of  infinite  love,  should  discharge  its  power  on  the 
heart  of  the  world.  The  obstacle  to  that  plan  lay  in  the  ap- 
parent impossibility  of  reconciling  such  benevolence  with  the 
known  and  necessary  hostility  of  God  against  sin ;  of  exer- 
cising such  restorative  influence  on  man,  without  relaxing 
general  obligation,  and  thus  diffusing  a  disorganizing  influ- 
ence through  the  universe  at  large.  But  the  organ  and 
agent  of  that  plan  came  forth  from  his  bosom,  equal  to  all 
its  conditions,  and  bent  on  its  fulfilment.  And  the  glory  of 
that  plan  consists  in  this,  that  the  greatest  apparent  obstacle 
was  made  the  occasion  of  its  greatest  triumph ;  that  the  same 
act  which  made  it  consistent  for  God  to  be  gracious  to  man, 
made  it  impossible  for  man,  when  duly  acquainted  and  di- 
vinely impressed  with  it,  to  resist  its  attractive  and  subduing 
power.     Around  that  plan  the  purposes  of  mercy  had  from 


46  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

eternity  revolved.  Its  earliest  announcement  in  Eden,  though 
only  conveyed  as  an  obscure  intimation,  touched  every  spring 
of  hope  in  human  nature,  and  left  an  ineffaceable  moral  im- 
pression on  the  mind  of  %the  world.  The  mere  anticipation 
of  that  coming  fact  had  the  effect,  for  ages,  wherever  it  was 
duly  cherished,  of  transforming  human  hearts,  and  of  bear- 
ing them  on  into  the  presence  of  God.  And  when  at  length 
the  time  for  its  fulfilment  came,  with  the  prospect  of  its 
grand  results  swelling  and  bursting  his  heart  of  love  it  was, 
that  the  Savior  uttered  the  sublime  prediction,  "  Now  shall 
the  prince  of  this  world  be  cast  out ;  and  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up 
from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me."  As  if  he  had 
said,  "  The  central  power  of  the  earth  is  a  demon.  I  look 
for  his  throne,  and  find  it  in  the  midst  of  the  world.  There, 
where  should  have  stood  the  throne  of  God,  stands  '  Satan's 
seat ; '  while  in  his  hand  are  all  the  influences  of  earth,  and 
at  his  feet  all  its  prostrate  homage.  But  there  shall  stand  my 
cross.  Casting  him  out,  I  will  become  the  centre  of  the  re- 
covered world.  Those  human  passions  shall  burn  for  me. 
Those  countless  idolaters  shall  bow  to  me.  And  all  this  will 
I  do,  not  by  force,  but  by  influence  alone.  No  single  princi- 
ple of  human  nature  will  I  violate.  Placing  myself  in  har- 
mony with  them  all,  I  will  imbody  every  element  of  influence, 
and  engage  every  holy  agency,  in  the  universe.  All  evil  influ- 
ences have  conspired ;  all  good  shall  combine  to  oppose  them. 
My  benevolence  can  find  employment  for  all.  Man's  deprav- 
ity and  danger  require  them  all.  None  shall  be  absent. 
But,  chiefly,  thou,  Eternal  Spirit,  my  object  requires  that 
thou  shouldst  come  to  conduct  and  to  give  efficiency  to  the 
whole." 

Thus  the  Savior  proposed  to  recover  that  principle  of  mu- 
tual dependence  and  influence  by  which  sin  was  dragging  the 
world  to  perdition,  and  to  employ  it  as  a  golden  chain  for 
drawing  all  men  to  himself. 

Now,  could  we  stay  to  analyze  the  elements  of  the  char- 
acter and  work  of  Christ,  as  they  relate  to  man,  we  should 
find  that  each  of  them  was  studiously  adapted  to  act  on  the 
human  mind  as  an  element  of  influence;  and  the  more  minute- 
ly we  could  examine  them,  the  more  should  we  see  to  admire 
in  their  exquisite  adaptation  and  attractive  power.  Dignity 
is  influence ;  and  he  demonstrated  to  our  conviction  that  he 
was  the  Son  of  God.  Identity  of  nature  is  influence ;  and 
he  became  "  bone  of  our  bone,  and  flesh  of  our  flesh."     Con- 


STATED   AND   EXPLAINED.  47 

tiguity  is  influence;  and  he  came  and  dwelt  amongst  us. 
Relationship  is  influence ;  and,  so  far  from  disolving  existing 
relationships,  he  actually  instituted  a  new  one;  he  became 
a  man  !  Instead  of  moving  away  farther  from  us,  as  our 
guilt  deserved,  he  came  nearer,  came  with  all  the  fulness 
of  the  Godhead  to  be  one  of  ourselves ;  came  to  demon- 
strate before  our  eyes  how  much  a  God  can  love,  a  Savior 
suffer,  a  Spirit  effect,  in  order  to  our  salvation.  Character 
is  influence ;  he  saw  that,  as  mind  rules  matter,  charac- 
ter rules  mind  itself,  draws  other  minds  into  sympathy  with 
it,  imparts  new  impulses  to  society,  speaks  with  a  voice  heard 
by  distant  nations,  and  which  goes  down  to  future  ages.  He 
saw,  therefore,  that  when  his  character  should  come  to  be 
truly  known,  —  known  for  his  unconquerable  devotedness  to 
the  cause  of  God  and  man,  in  having  borne  down,  by  a  course 
of  unexampled  self-denial,  the  greatest  obstacles  in  the  uni- 
verse, made  his  way  from  heaven,  through  the  ranks  of  hell, 
into  the  midst  of  the  world,  and  direct  to  a  cross ;  known  for 
his  self-sacrificing  benevolence,  in  having  effected  an  un- 
broken descent,  from  heights  of  glory  no  wing  can  scale,  to 
depths  of  humiliation  no  line  can  fathom  ;  known  for  having 
presented  to  a  world,  which  refused  to  live  unto  God,  the 
amazing  spectacle  of  a  God  living  to  it,  turning  his  whole 
self  into  a  sacrifice,  compared  with  which  nothing  else  would 
ever  deserve  the  name ;  known  for  the  richness  of  his  gifts, 
and  the  vastness  of  his  design,  as  including  the  happiness 
without  measure  of  numbers  without  calculation,  and  for 
ages  without  end,  —  all  who  should  experimentally  "know 
the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  would  be  penetrated 
and  possessed  with  the  effect,  and  would  compass  sea  and 
land  to  propagate  the  report. 

He  knew  also  that  a  divine  influence  —  the  influence  of 
the  Spirit  himself —  would  accompany  and  give  it  effect. 
He  could  foresee,  indeed,  that  the  recipients  of  his  grace, 
moved  by  the  Spirit  of  truth,  would  throw  all  their  sancti- 
fied human  influences  into  the  work  of  preaching  it.  But 
even  they  who  would  glory  in  it  the  loudest,  and  labor  for  it 
the  most,  would  know  but  comparatively  little  of  its  excel- 
lence. Whereas  the  Infinite  Spirit  knows  it  perfectly  ;  knows 
it  as  the  basis  of  his  own  agency ;  knows  the  central  place 
which  the  cross  occupies,  as  the  means  of  atonement,  in  the 
councils  of  God,  the  influence  which  it  exerts  on  every  part 
of  the  divine  government,  and  the  glory  which  it  is  destined 


48  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

to  shed  over  the  universe ;  and  the  Savior  saw,  therefore, 
that  the  Spirit  would  invest  it  with  a  power  over  the  human 
mind  corresponding  with  its  value  and  supreme  importance  ; 
and  that  so  entirely  wo\ild  the  whole  economy  be  conducted, 
from  first  to  last,  by  his  agency,  that  it  would  be  distinctly 
known  as  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit. 

True,  indeed,  what  would  influence  the  human  mind  was 
not  the  only  thing,  was  not  the  first  thing,  which  the  Author 
of  salvation  had  to  provide.  There  was  another  mind  to  be 
consulted.  There  was  the  First,  the  Eternal  Mind  to  be 
more  than  consulted,  to  be  propitiated ;  for  man  had  dared 
his  judicial  displeasure.  Whatever  adaptation,  therefore,  the 
gospel  might  seem  to  possess,  it  can  contain  no  effectual  rem- 
edy for  man,  unless  it  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  that  Mind. 
But  to  find  that  even  He  approves  it ;  that  He,  who  is  himself 
the  Infinite  Reason,  beholds  in  the  satisfaction  for  sin  which 
it  provides  a  reason  paramount  to  all  law,  a  reason  to  which 
even  justice  bows,  and  before  which  it  retires ;  that  He  who 
is  himself  absolute  perfection  should  not  only  commend  it  as 
perfect  in  itself,  but  should  actually  employ  it  as  his  chosen 
instrument  for  restoring  perfection  to  beings  who  had  lost  it ; 
that  all  the  laws  of  his  moral  government  consent  to  it,  and 
all  the  principles  of  his  nature  rejoice  in  it ;  is  of  itself  suffi- 
cient to  arm  it  with  an  arresting  and  attractive  power.  Now, 
the  Savior  knew  this :  he  knew  that  the  cross,  as  the  medium 
of  forgiveness,  is  the  direct  product  of  the  divine  mind  ; 
that  all  the  riches  of  the  divine  nature  are  poured  into  it ; 
that  nothing  in  the  treasury  of  the  divine  resources  would  be 
deemed  too  costly  to  adorn  it,  in  order  to  commend  it  to  the 
world,  and  to  insure  its  acceptance.  He  could  not  doubt, 
therefore,  that  the  cross,  which  had  moved  God  in  his  judicial 
capacity,  will  finally  be  made  to  move  the  world ;  that,  as  it  is 
the  centre  around  which  the  purposes  of  mercy  revolve,  so 
all  the  affections  of  man  will  be  gathered  about  it  also ;  that 
the  very  fact  that  God  commends  it  would,  when  known, 
invest  it  with  an  unlimited  sway  over  every  renovated  human 
heart.  Yes,  he  had  looked  into  the  mind  of  man,  and 
he  saw  that,  debased  and  imbruted  as  sin  had  made  us,  there 
are  still  slumbering  within  us  those  great  principles  and 
powers  originally  meant  to  control  our  nature,  and  that  he 
who  should  succeed  in  awakening  them  would  obtain  the 
mastery  over  the  whole  man.  He  saw  that  by  suffering  he 
should  awaken  its  sympathies;  that  by  suffering  for  us  he 


STATED    AND   EXPLAINED.  49 

should  engage  its  gratitude ;  that  by  suffering  for  sin,  which 
he  hated,  —  "  bearing  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree," 
—  he  should  be  the  means  of  awakening  its  astonishment  and 
love ;  that  by  thus  giving  to  it  "  a  good  hope,"  he  should  be 
moving  the  very  first  principle  of  moral  power. 

He  was  the  maker  of  the  mind,  and  knew  all  its  mysteri- 
ous laws  and  secret  springs.  That  singular  law  which  we 
call  the  principle  of  association,  and  which  is  to  mind,  in 
effect,  what  the  law  of  attraction  is  to  matter,  drawing 
together  ideas  connected  by  common  affinities,  and  repelling 
others  having  no  such  congeniality,  was  a  law  of  his  own  ap- 
pointment. And  he  saw  how  exquisitely  the  doctrine  of  the 
cross  was  adapted,  resulting,  as  it  does,  from  the  first  princi- 
ples in  the  divine  nature,  to  touch  and  move  the  first  prin- 
ciples in  ours,  and  thus  to  become,  through  the  agency  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  a  new  principle  of  mental  and  moral  association. 
But  he  knew  that,  besides  this,  the  human  mind  was  consti- 
tuted for  the  reception  and  enthronement  of  one  central  and 
ruling  idea,  the  idea  of  God ;  that  that  idea  in  its  purity  and 
vigor  has  been  lost  from  the  mind ;  that,  in  the  absence  of 
this  primary  principle,  the  mind  is  involved  in  moral  confu- 
sion, and  the  passions  perverted  by  an  unlicensed  association 
of  ideas ;  and  he  saw  that  the  cross,  imbodying,  as  it  does, 
the  essential  compassion  and  love  of  God,  was  divinely  cal- 
culated to  restore  order  by  obtaining  ascendency,  and  to 
become  the  all-subordinating  principle  of  the  enlightened 
mind.  Though  we  may  not  be  able  by  an  effort  of  our  will 
to  call  up  any  one  train  of  thought,  we  can,  by  the  power  of 
the  will,  select  at  pleasure  any  single  thought  in  the  succes- 
sion, and  dwell  upon  it  with  deep  and  prolonged  attention ; 
and  he  saw  how  eminently  the  cross  is  calculated  to  be  that 
object ;  to  rivet  the  attention  and  engross  the  affections  of 
the  renewed  mind. 

He  saw  that,  as  every  truth,  intellectual,  moral,  and  spirit- 
ual, is  invested  by  the  God  of  truth  with  an  influence  and  a 
power  corresponding  with  its  peculiar  nature  and  its  impor- 
tance ;  and  that  as  spiritual  truths  are  above  and  beyond  all 
others,  as  relating  to  the  spiritual  and  loftiest  part  of  our 
nature  ;  so  the  great  truth  of  the  world's  redemption  —  the 
very  greatest  for  a  sinful  and  ruined  spirit  —  would  only  need 
to  be  proclaimed  and  put  into  divine  activity  —  to  be  brought 
by  the  Great  Spirit  into  vital  contact  and  combination  with 
the  heart  of  the  world,  in  order  to  draw  it  with  irresistible 
5 


50  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

attraction  to  the  Author  of  that  truth.  Mighty  truths  were 
extant  before  —  truths  which  created  other  truths  —  which, 
wherever  they  were  announced,  quickened  into  activity 
the  general  mind,  called  forth  the  mental  resources  of  a 
people,  and  went  vibrating  on  through  the  universe.  But  a 
truth  was  wanting,  fitted  to  receive  the  great  power  of  God  — 
to  be  "  the  power  of  God  unto  the  salvation "  of  all  who 
should  believe  it  —  a  truth  which  should  animate  all  other 
truths  —  shed  a  flood  of  light  and  a  stimulating  influence  on 
original  but  neglected  obligations,  and  thus  be  the  means  of 
renovating  the  world.  And  the  Savior  knew  that  his  atoning 
sacrifice  was  that  great  conservative  truth.  He  knew  that,  as 
no  act  terminates  in  itself,  but  tends  to  propagate  an  influ- 
ence in  obedience  to  its  own  laws,  and  commensurate  with 
its  own  force  —  the  event  of  his  death  for  man's  redemption  — 
the  greatest  of  all  acts  —  greater  than  creation  —  greater  than 
any  which  God  has  yet  accomplished  —  would  necessarily 
carry  with  it  an  influence  greater  than  the  influence  flowing 
from  any  preceding  acts,  and  therefore  calculated,  under  the 
dispensation  of  the  Spirit,  to  master  and  control  the  whole. 

He  saw  that  as  no  object  in  the  universe  exists  alone  —  that 
as  every  thing  is  the  centre  of  an  influence  which  extends  to 
all  within  its  circle  —  so  the  cross,  including  as  it  would  the 
means  of  exciting  that  love  which  is  the  very  principle  of  all 
holy  activity  —  complicated  as  it  was  with  ail  interests  of 
humanity,  would  become  the  centre  of  an  influence,  to  which 
all  other  impulses  would  eventually  yield  obedience,  and  a 
centre  of  attraction  around  which  all  other  objects  would 
finally  circulate  —  that  the  cross  of  Calvary  would  become 
the  polar  power  of  the  spiritual  world,  to  which  every  heart 
would  tremble  and  turn. 

He  saw  in  the  earnest  expectation  of  the  creature  waiting 
for  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God,  struggling  to  be 
delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the  glorious 
liberty  of  the  children  of  God,  joined  with  the  divine  adapta- 
tion of  the  gospel  to  make  that  manifestation,  and  to  effect 
that  deliverance,  a  certain  pledge  of  its  universal  triumph. 
"  For  we  know  that  the  whole  creation  groan eth  and  travail- 
eth  in  pain  together  until  now."  But  with  how  much  deeper 
an  emphasis  may  it  be  said  that  He  knows  it !  To  his  omni- 
scient eye  the  whole  race  was  present.  He  marked  the  multi- 
tudes struggling  against  their  fallen  condition  —  carrying 
their  desires  beyond  the  limits  of  the  present  —  yearning  after 


STATED   AND   EXPLAINED.  51 

a  something  undefined.  Yes,  he  knew  that  his  gospel  is  the 
hope  of  mankind  —  that  every  sigh  and  struggle  of  the  whole 
creation  is  an  act  of  homage  to  the  salvation  he  brought,  and 
a  guaranty  that  all  men  shall  eventually  be  drawn  to  him. 
And  beyond  this,  he  knew  that  so  delighted  was  the  Father 
with  his  work  of  mediation,  that  this  redeemed  world  would 
be  made  his  property,  that  the  hearts  of  his  people  would  be 
his  at  will,  and  all  their  influences  his  to  wield  at  pleasure. 
He  knew  that  "  for  this  cause  he  was  to  die,  and  rise,  and 
revive,  that  he  might  be  Lord  of  the  whole."  And  when,  by 
anticipation,  he  heard  them  saying,  "  None  of  us  liveth  to 
himself;  we  are  not  our  own;  for  us  to  live  is  Christ;" 
when,  looking  onwards,  he  saw  the  cross,  in  the  hand  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  attracting  human  hearts,  combining  human  ener- 
gies, turning  every  thing  into  influence,  and  all  that  influence 
into  one  channel ;  he  exclaimed,  "  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up 
from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me." 

For  "the  joy  which  was  thus  set  before  him,"  He  —  the 
Son  of  God  —  "endured  the  cross,"  as  the  sacrifice  for  the 
world.  Into  that  act  were  put  the  heart  of  Christ,  the  love 
of  God  —  and  through  it  comes  the  mightest  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  That  cross  is  the  shrine  and  medium  of  the 
whole.  By  becoming  the  instrument  of  human  redemption, 
it  acquires  the  right  and  the  power  to  give  motives  to  all  ac- 
tions, sanctions  to  all  obligations,  objects  to  all  affections,  a 
new  nature  to  man,  a  new  character  to  the  world. 

IV.  Here,  then,  is  the  cross  —  here  are  the  means  for  mov- 
ing the  world ;  where  is  the  agency,  or  what  is  the  plan,  for 
working  the  mighty  engine  ?  The  Eternal  Father  has  been 
moved  by  it  to  lift  its  author  up  far  above  all  heavens  —  what 
is  the  mode  by  which,  now,  in  his  new  and  exalted  capacity, 
he  will  draw  the  world  in  homage  to  his  feet  1  So  powerfully 
does  its  influence  fall  on  the  mind  of  God,  as  the  means  of 
moral  compensation  for  sin,  that  he  hath  given  all  things  into 
his  hands  —  how  is  it  to  fall  on  the  minds  of  men  so  as  to  in- 
duce them  voluntarily  to  copy  that  divine  example  ?  This  is 
obviously  the  critical  part  of  the  great  process.  O,  how 
important  a  theatre  has  earth  become!  Every  eye  in  the 
universe  is  bent  on  it.  Here  is  to  be  fought  out  the  grand 
struggle  of  evil  with  good  —  of  hell  with  heaven.  Here 
the  influence  of  the  cross  is  to  challenge  and  vanquish 
every  other  power ;  who  is  not  anxious  to  know  the  plan  of 
the  contest? 


52  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

This  brings  us  to  consider  the  scripture  theory  of  Chris- 
tian instrumentality  for  the  conversion  of  the  world.  The 
early  triumphs  of  the  gospel  demonstrated  that  the  influence 
of  the  cross  was  not  left  to  find  its  way  through  the  world  as 
it  could — to  operate  at  random.  The  plan  which  provided 
the  influence  of  the  cross  provided,  also,  the  method  of  its 
diffusion  and  propagation.  And,  on  inspection,  we  shall  find 
that  plan  so  simple  in  its  principle  —  so  connected  in  its  parts 
—  so  comprehensive  in  its  outline  —  and  so  well  adapted  for 
efficiency  and  success,  as  to  show  that  the  wisdom  which 
framed  it  was  divine ;  and  that  nothing  but  adherence  to  it 
is  wanting  in  order  to  the  conversion  of  the  world. 

We  have  already  shown  that,  by  the  constitution  of  our 
nature,  we  are  made  to  influence  each  other  ;  that  the  perver- 
sion of  that  influence  by  sin,  is  the  great  secret  and  means 
of  the  world's  continued  depravity ;  that,  through  the  agency 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  doctrine  of  the  cross  is  the  antago- 
nist principle,  the  counter  influence,  by  which  sin  is  to  be  van- 
quished and  man  restored.  We  may  expect,  therefore,  that 
the  instrumentality  to  be  employed  in  the  service  of  the  cross 
will  consist  of  influence  also.  And,  accordingly,  human  in- 
fluence, deriving  its  efficacy  from  Heaven,  is  the  specific  in- 
strumentality by  which  the  gospel  proposes  to  propagate  its 
transforming  effects. 

But  if  so,  it  follows,  of  course,  that  such  influence  should 
be  congenial  with  the  character  —  the  moral  character  —  of 
the  cross,  and  be  produced  by  it.  For  this  sufficient  reason, 
that  every  other  influence  is,  in  truth,  opposed  to  the  gospel, 
and  constitutes  that  which  requires  to  be  changed  by  it.  The 
cross  stands  alone  in  the  world.  It  does  not  find  friends,  it 
makes  them.  If  it  wants  an  agency,  it  has  to  create  it.  If 
the  iron  is  to  attract,  it  must  itself  be  magnetized.  And  if 
the  Savior  proposes  to  employ  human  instrumentality  for 
drawing  all  men  unto  him,  he  has  first  to  magnetize  that  agen- 
cy at  the  cross,  the  great  centre  of  moral  attraction. 

1.  But  how  shall  the  gospel  commence  its  operations  on 
man  —  individually,  or  socially  1  Civilization  commonly 
begins  with  man  in  his  social  capacity,  by  giving  laws  to  a 
community  ;  expecting  that  they  will  gradually  impart  their 
appropriate  influence  to  each  of  its  individual  members.  But 
Christianity  contemplates  man,  in  the  first  place,  in  his  in- 
dividual capacity.  For,  besides  the  fact  of  his  personal 
responsibility   to  God,  his  reception  of  it,  as  far  as  human 


STATED   AND   EXPLAINED.  53 

authority  is  concerned,  is  perfectly  voluntary.  The  gospel, 
therefore,  proceeds  on  the  supposition  that  only  a  single  mem- 
ber of  a  whole  community  may  embrace  it ;  and  by  address- 
ing men  at  first  in  their  individual  capacity,  it  saves  that 
single  member ;  whereas,  had  his  salvation  been  suspended  on 
the  will  of  the  community,  it  would  have  been  made  impos- 
sible, owing  to  their  rejection  of  the  gospel.  Besides  which, 
Christianity  proceeds  on  the  supposition  so  often  realized, 
that  it  may  only  have  a  solitary  agent  to  convey  its  message 
to  a  whole  community ;  and  that  in  the  midst  of  that  com- 
munity he  may  long  labor  single-handed  and  alone.  It  begins 
with  the  individual,  therefore,  that  it  may  advance  to  the 
society.  In  order  to  the  cohesion  and  polarity  of  the  globe, 
every  atom  of  which  it  is  composed  is,  in  its  separate  capa- 
city, possessed  of  polarity  and  attraction.  And  in  order  to 
the  ultimate  evangelization  of  the  world,  the  gospel  operates, 
as  it  advances,  on  each  of  its  component  parts. 

And,  here,  be  it  carefully  remarked,  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
cross  triumphs,  not  in  the  same  way  as  other  kinds  of  truth 
produce  their  results  —  by  its  mere  fitness  to  convince  the 
judgment,  and  approve  itself  to  the  mind.  We  believe,  in- 
deed, that  the  gospel  has  this  fitness  ;  that  light  is  not  more 
suited  to  the  eye,  than  the  entire  system  of  evangelical  truth 
is  adapted  to  the  original  principles  of  human  nature.  And 
we  believe  that,  owing  to  this  inherent  adaptation  alone,  the 
gospel  can  produce  the  mightiest  civil  and  social  results, 
without  the  aid  of  any  special  supernatural  influence.  And 
we  believe  that,  because  of  this  inherent  adaptation,  it  is  that 
God  employs  it  to  produce  the  great  spiritual  result  of  regen- 
eration. But,  then,  we  believe  that  in  the  production  of  this 
result,  its  mere  adaptation  alone  would  leave  it  quite  impo- 
tent ;  that  here  it  encounters  a  kind  and  a  degree  of  resist- 
ance which  renders  a  Divine  Agency  indispensable;  that 
here  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  comes  into  operation ;  and 
that  on  this  account  it  is  called  "  the  power  of  God,"  because 
God  alone  renders  it  powerful  to  salvation.  Hence,  also, 
"faith"  is  termed  "  the  gift  of  God."  And  God  is  repre- 
sented as  "  opening  the  heart  to  receive  the  word."  Still,  the 
Spirit  of  God  is  pleased  to  produce  the  effect  through  the 
medium  of  the  truth ;  and  hence  the  apostle  Peter  represents 
Christians  as  those  who  "  have  purified  their  souls  in  obeying 
the  truth  through  the  Spirit."  Most  impressively,  too,  is  the 
same  combination  implied  in  the  command  of  Christ  "to  hear 


54  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

what  the  Spirit  sarin,"  although  he  himself  was  the  speaker  ; 
reminding  us  that  this  is  emphatically  the  dispensation  of  the 
Third  Person  in  the  Glorious  Trinity ;  that  every  voice  in  the 
church  —  even  the  voice  of  Christ  himself — is  in  a  sense 
subordinate  to  the  Spirit,  and  can  be  heard  with  salutary 
effect  only  as  the  Spirit  repeats  it,  and  conveys  it  into  the  soul. 

Now,  in  attempting  to  describe  its  transforming  power  on 
the  human  heart,  it  is  somewhat  disheartening  to  reflect  that 
we  are  most  likely  addressing  those  to  whom  the  subject 
has  become  comparatively  trite,  and  almost  every  mode  of 
presenting  it,  perfectly  familiar.  The  very  facility  with 
which  the  understanding  apprehends  our  meaning,  and  the 
readiness  with  which  the  judgment  admits  it,  allows  no 
time  for  the  sublime  truth  to  settle  down  upon  the  heart. 
In  order,  therefore,  to  do  any  thing  like  justice  to  the 
subject,  it  is  necessary  that  the  individual  supposed  to  be 
subjected  to  the  influence  in  question  should  be  taken,  not 
from  among  ourselves,  but  from  a  region  where  the  power 
and  even  the  name  of  the  gospel  is  unknown.  Christianity 
is  the  only  successful  antagonist  which  sin  has  ever  encoun- 
tered ;  in  order,  therefore,  to  exhibit  its  influence  fully,  he 
should  be  taken  from  the  darkness  and  distance  of  nature, 
where  sin  had  operated  on  him  unchecked,  working  out  all 
its  deadly  effects,  and  reducing  him  to  its  dreadful  purposes ; 
and  he  should  be  brought,  with  all  his  depravity  and  guilt 
upon  him,  into  the  full  light,  and  under  the  direct  power,  of 
the  gospel. 

Now,  in  this  state,  he  is  chiefly  assailable  at  three  points. 
Fortified  in  evil,  as  he  may  appear  to  be,  there  are  yet  three 
sides,  so  to  speak,  on  which  he  may  be  approached,  by  the 
Spirit  of  truth,  with  irresistible  effect  —  his  immortality,  his 
guilt,  and  his  infinite  danger.  These  are  subjects  relating  to 
parts  and  principles  of  his  nature  which  an  abandoned  world 
overlooks  —  it  has  little  or  nothing  by  which  it  can  appeal  to 
them  if  it  would  —  and  yet  they  lie  at  the  very  foundation  of 
his  constitution,  so  that  whoever  shall  succeed  in  making  him 
sensible  of  his  immortality,  in  alarming  his  conscience  to  the 
danger  to  which  all  that  immortality  is  exposed  by  sin,  and 
then  in  delivering  him  from  the  whole,  will  necessarily  acquire 
a  master  influence  over  his  whole  nature  forever.  Now,  the 
gospel  does  this.  It  does  not  affect  a  part  of  his  nature 
merely.  It  does  not  operate  superficially  on  the  senses ;  nor 
convince  his  judgment,  and  leave  his  heart  uninterested ;  nor 


STATED   AND   EXPLAINED.  55 

move  his  passions  merely,  to  the  neglect  of  his  judgment  and 
his  will.  It  goes  in,  and  down,  to  the  depths  of  his  nature. 
It  goes  directly  to  move  that  which  moves  the  whole  man. 

The  world  hides  a  man  from  himself —  conceals  from  him 
the  most  important  part  of  his  nature.  By  shutting  out  the 
prospect  of  eternity,  he  loses  sight  of  his  immortality ;  and 
by  constantly  appealing  to  his  senses,  and  thus  keeping  in 
exercise  only  the  inferior  parts  of  his  nature,  he  tends  to 
settle  down  into  a  mere  creature  of  time.  But  the  first  effect, 
perhaps,  which  the  gospel  produces,  is  to  reveal  him  to  him- 
self. .  But  coming  to  him  as  a  message  from  another  world, 
he  starts  into  a  consciousness  of  his  relation  to  that  world  — 
and  by  addressing  itself  to  the  spiritual  part  of  his  nature,  he 
becomes  sensible,  however  vaguely  at  first,  that  he  is  in  some 
way  related  to  the  spiritual,  the  infinite,  and  the  eternal. 
Now,  it  is  obvious  how  this  very  first  impression,  by  throwing 
open  a  part  of  the  temple  of  his  nature  which  had  been 
hitherto  shut  up  —  the  very  sanctuary,  containing  the  symbol 
of  divinity  —  prepares  him  to  receive  with  deep  effect  every 
other  communication  which  may  come  to  him  from  the  same 
quarter. 

Not  only  does  the  world  conceal  from  a  man  his  spiritual 
and  immortal  nature,  by  allowing  it  to  fall  into  disuse,  —  it 
tends  also  to  merge  the  fact  of  his  individual  accountableness 
—  his  distinct  personal  responsibility.  From  living  in  society, 
and  finding  his  interests  and  relations  inseparably  complicated 
with  those  of  others,  he  comes  to  think  of  himself  only  as  an 
undistinguishable  part  of  a  great  whole.  He  loses  himself  in 
the  crow.d.  But  the  gospel  individualizes  and  detaches.  It 
tells  him  of  a  law  by  which  all  the  laws  of  society  are  them- 
selves to  be  judged,  but  of  which  his  life  has  been  an  un- 
broken violation  —  of  a  book  in  which  his  personal  history  is 
recorded  moment  by  moment  —  of  a  Being  who  can  disen- 
tangle and  detach  him  from  all  his  complicated  relations,  and 
assign  to  his  every  thought  and  word  its  precise  character  — 
and  of  a  place  and  a  punishment  so  exactly  and  necessarily 
resulting  from  his  guilt,  and  proportioned  to  it,  that  he  is  the 
only  being  in  the  universe  to  whom  they  could  be  assigned. 
The  only  way,  therefore,  in  which  it  can  treat  with  him  is  in 
person.  It  lays  its  awakening  and  arresting  hand  on  his 
personal  conscience.  It  demands  a  personal  interview  —  a 
conference  in  the  centre  of  his  nature.  It  brings  forward  his 
guilt  into  the  strong  light  of  distinct  consciousness.     Even  if 


56  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

the  gospel  allowed  him  to  act  by  another,  his  own  conscience 
is  now  too  deeply  interested  to  permit  it.  All  his  faculties 
and  powers  seem  collected  into  a  point  —  the  entire  soul  be- 
comes conscience,  and  that  conscience  is  against  him  —  ac- 
cuser, witness,  and  judge.  As  if  the  judgment  had  been  set 
and  the  books  opened,  as  if  his  personal  case  had  been  ad- 
judged, his  doom  pronounced,  and  he  himself  suspended  over 
the  bottomless  gulf,  he  feels  that  he  is  lost.  His  nature  is 
now  stirred  to  its  depths,  and  his  soul  is  one  region  of  alarm. 
Mere  sympathy  now  will  receive  his  deep,  deep  gratitude ; 
deliverance  would  secure  his  heart  forever.  The  Being  who 
shall  now  arrive  to  his  rescue  will  infallibly  acquire  an  influ- 
ence over  the  whole  man,  and  may  calculate  on  his  allegiance 
forever. 

To  ask  if  the  world,  or  any  person  or  power  belonging  to 
it,  can  extend  the  aid  which  the  crisis  demands,  would  be 
sheer  impertinence.  That  is  the  very  power  which  has 
brought  on  the  crisis,  and  from  which  he  requires  to  be  res- 
cued. So  completely  is  he  now  detached  from  it  in  heart 
and  hope,  that  he  turns  round  and  looks  back  on  it,  with 
wonder  at  its  infatuation,  aversion  for  its  sins,  and  yearning 
pity  for  its  state.  The  cloud  which  threatens  him  with  its 
bolt,  impends  also  over  it.     What  must  he  "  do  to  be  saved  "  ? 

In  the  absence  of  all  the  objects  he  has  been  accustomed 
to  confide  in,  in  the  clear  and  open  space  which  their  with- 
drawment  has  left  around  him,  behold  the  cross !  All  the 
forms  of  terror  and  ministers  of  justice  which  his  sins  had 
armed  against  him  blend  and  melt  into  a  form  of  love  dying 
for  his  rescue.  The  cross  has  received  the  lightnings  of  the 
impending  cloud,  and  has  painted  upon  it  the  bow  of  hope. 
To  his  anxious  inquiry,  "  What  he  must  do  to  be  saved  ?  " 
the  cross  echoes  back,  Be  saved,  and  every  object  around 
him  joyfully  repeats,  Be  saved.  Then  God  is  love !  and  the 
cross  is  the  stupendous  expedient  by  which  he  harmonizes 
that  love  with  the  rectitude  of  his  government !  Then  the 
sinner  need  not  perish !  and  this  is  the  amazing  means  of 
his  salvation !  Had  it  ever  been  his  Jot  to  gaze  on  the  ap- 
palling spectacle  of  an  ordinary  crucifixion,  the  sight  would 
probably  have  left  an  image  on  his  mind  never  to  be  effaced. 
Is  it  possible,  then,  that  he  can  behold  "  Jesus  Christ,  evi- 
dently set  forth  crucified  before  his  eyes ; "  that  he  can  know 
the  dignity  of  the  sufferer,  as  God  manifest  in  the  flesh ;  can 
believe  that  he  hates  the  sin  as  deeply  as  he  loves  the  sinner ; 


STATED   AND    EXPLAINED.  57 

can  reflect  that  the  effect  of  his  death  is  to  be  his  own  deliv- 
erance ;  and  can  look  into  the  heart  of  this  great  mystery 
and  find  it  to  be  love,  without  experiencing  a  change  ?  If 
every  word  which  he  hears  spoken  even  by  a  fellow-man 
leaves  some  impression  on  his  mind,  can  he  hear  that  he  is 
saved,  and  believe  that  the  voice  which  assures  him  of  salva- 
tion is  the  voice  of  God,  without  feeling  it  thrill  through 
every  faculty  of  the  soul  ?  If  every  object  and  event  he  may 
witness  produces  some  effect  on  his  character  —  is  it  possi- 
ble that  the  event  which  is  to  affect  his  whole  being  forever  — 
which  for  him  shuts  forever  the  gate  of  hell,  and  throws  open 
and  fills  with  visions  of  glory  the  ample  spaces  of  eternity, 
should  produce  only  a  transient  and  slender  impression? 
Must  he  not,  by  necessity  of  nature,  love  him,  without  whom 
he  would  soon  have  had  nothing  in  the  universe  to  love,  but 
have  been  eternally  hateful  even  to  himself?  Must  he  not 
render  obedience  to  him,  without  whom  the  chains  of  his 
slavery  would  soon  have  been  riveted  forever  ?  He  waits  not 
for  a  reply;  he  needs  not  a  command.  He  is  under  the 
mastery  of  a  principle  which  is  its  own  law —  a  principle  of 
boundless  gratitude  and  love.  The  power  of  the  cross  has 
moved  the  primary  forces  of  his  nature  —  the  mysterious 
springs  of  Hope  and  Fear,  of  Adoration  and  Love.  The 
world  has  lost  him.  His  heart  is  at  the  feet  of  Christ.  He 
dates  life  and  happiness  from  the  transition.  Henceforth  he 
moves  in  a  region  of  which  the  cross  is  the  central  object, 
and  where  the  benignant  and  attractive  influences  which 
stream  from  it  in  all  directions,  hold  him  in  willing  and  de- 
lighted allegiance. 

Here,  then,  is  the  secret  of  that  supreme  influence  which 
the  gospel  exercises  over  the  man  whom  the  world  had  de- 
based and  sin  had  ruined ;  and  this  is  the  line  of  truth  along 
which  the  Spirit  of  God  delights  to  operate.  By  acquainting 
him  with  his  immortality,  it,  in  effect,  gives  him  a  soul,  and 
gives  it  on  the  threshold  of  a  new  and  eternal  world.  By 
acquainting  him  with  his  responsibility  and  guilt,  it  calls  his 
conscience  from  the  dead ;  and  by  unveiling  to  him  the  mys- 
tery of  the  cross,  by  which  that  guilt  is  cancelled,  and  that 
immortality  entitled  to  heaven,  one  overpowering  sentiment 
subjects  his  whole  nature  to  the  authority  of  Christ.  The 
Spirit  has  taken  of  the  things  of  Christ,  and  has  shown  them 
to  him  with  so  transforming  an  effect,  that  he  is  "  a  new  crea- 
ture in  Christ  Jesus." 


58  CHRISTIAN    IiNSTRUMENTALITY 

We  are  to  suppose,  then,  that  the  gospel  has,  in  this  way, 
won  its  first  convert ;  that  the  transforming  effects,  which  the 
Savior  ascribed  to  his  being  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  have 
taken  place  upon  him.  Here  is  a  man  imbued  with  the  spirit 
of  the  cross,  and  ready  to  sacrifice  life  in  its  service  —  how 
is  he  to  be  employed  ?  He  is  not  to  live  to  himself;  for  by 
the  sentence  of  a  law  which  has  gone  forth  from  the  cross, 
he  who  lives  to  himself  is  not  a  Christian.  He  has  net  been 
"created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus"  for  mere  self-enjoyment  or 
idle  show  —  that  the  act  might  terminate  in  itself.  Every 
thing  in  nature  exists  for  a  purpose.  Even  the  atom  of  the 
rock  has  its  appointed  place,  and  its  definite  end.  Surely 
man  —  and,  of  all  men,  the  Christian  —  is  not  exempt  from 
this  law  !  What,  then,  is  his  destiny  ? 

Here  is  evidently  a  fitting  agent  for  Christ  to  employ.  No 
other  being  in  the  universe  has  the  shadow  of  a  claim  to  him, 
beyond  that  which  his  new  proprietor  may  choose  to  grant. 
Every  part  and  property  of  his  nature,  and  every  moment  of 
his  future  existence,  have  been  bought  —  paid  for  with  "pre- 
cious blood."  And  as  the  new  interest  to  which  he  is  pledged 
is  opposed  by  every  other,  he  cannot  yield  to  any  other  claim- 
ant, even  for  a  moment,  without  lending  himself,  during  that 
moment,  to  a  hostile  party ;  so  that  he  has  no  alternative  but 
that  of  devoting  himself  unreservedly  to  Christ.  Accordingly, 
the  Savior  claims  him  for  himself.  From  the  moment  he 
felt  the  power  of  the  cross,  his  duty  became  definite,  impera- 
tive, one.  If  every  other  member  of  the  human  family  were 
abandoned  to  live  without  control  —  if  the  sun  itself  were 
abandoned  to  wander  through  infinite  space  —  his  course 
would  yet  be  minutely  prescribed.  As  if  he  alone  held  the 
great  secret  of  the  cross,  and  were  consequently  the  most 
important  being  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  his  every  moment  is 
charged  with  an  appointed  duty.  As  if  he  had  been  recalled 
from  the  state  of  death ;  yes,  not  merely  as  if  he  had  been 
called  out  of  nothingness  into  existence  —  not  merely  as  if  he 
had  been  selected  and  sent  down  from  the  ranks  of  the  blessed 
above  —  but  with  stronger  motives  still,  as  if  his  guilty  soul 
had  been  recalled  from  perdition,  where  the  undying  worm 
had  found  him,  and  the  unquenchable  flame  had  enwrapped 
him,  and  his  dissolved  body  recalled  from  the  dust  of  death  — 
and  as  if  he  had  literally  come  out  of  the  tomb  with  Christ, 
and  had  received  life  and  salvation  together  at  the  mouth  of 
the  sepulchre,  at  the  hand   of  Christ  —  all  his   new-found 


STATED   AND   EXPLAINED.  59 

powers  are  to  be  held  by  him  as  a  precious  trust  for  the  ser- 
vice of  Christ.  As  if  he  had  come  forth  from  the  sepulchre 
at  first  with  life  only  —  and  as  if  his  reason,  knowledge,  affec- 
tions, speech,  property,  had  there  been  restored  to  him  sep- 
arately, and  in  succession,  with  a  distinct  intimation  accom- 
panying each,  that  he  received  it  back  for  Christ,  he  is  to 
look  on  himself,  henceforth,  as  a  part  of  the  cross,  as  taken 
up  into  the  great  designs  of  Christ  —  as  bound  up  for  life 
and  death  in  his  plans  of  mercy.  His  character  is  to  be  a 
reproduction  of  the  character  of  Christ.  The  disinterested- 
ness which  appeared  in  Christ,  is  to  reappear  in  him.  The 
tenderness  of  Christ  —  his  untold  solicitude  for  human  souls, 
is  to  live  over  again  in  his  tones  of  entreaty,  his  wrestling 
prayer  for  their  salvation.  The  blood  of  the  cross  itself  is, 
in  a  sense,  to  stream  forth  again,  in  his  tears  of  anguish,  his 
voluntary  and  vicarious  self-sacrifice  to  draw  men  to  Christ. 
And  if  tempted  to  lend  but  a  particle  of  his  influence  to  any 
other  claimant  than  Christ,  his  reply  is  at  hand  —  "  I  am  not 
my  own,  I  am  Christ's.  He  has  put  it  out  of  my  power  to 
give  him  more  than  belongs  to  him,  for  he  has  purchased  and 
challenges  the  whole  through  every  moment  of  time;  and 
out  of  my  will  to  give  him  less,  for,  if  I  know  any  grief,  it 
is  that  my  all  should  so  inadequately  express  my  sense  of 
obligation." 

2.  Now,  all  this  necessarily  invests  the  new  convert  with 
influence  ;  and  with  influence  of  the  same  kind  as  that  which 
instrumentally  drew  him  to  Christ  —  influence  already  felt, 
perhaps,  in  inferior  degrees  by  many  around  him ;  and,  ac- 
cordingly, we  are  to  suppose  that,  under  God,  he  becomes 
the  means  of  drawing  some  of  these  to  Christ.  Now,  as 
union  is  strength,  would  it  not  be  desirable  that  he  and  they 
should  be  organized  into  a  society  for  the  purpose  of  com- 
bining and  diffusing  their  influence  farther  still  1  Here,  then, 
is  the  next  step  in  the  theory  of  Christian  influence  —  the 
formation  of  individual  Christians  into  a  church.  The  pri- 
mary design  of  a  church,  indeed,  is  the  spiritual  benefit  of 
the  members  composing  it ;  that  each  might  enjoy  the  assist- 
ance of  all ;  that  the  Christian  principles  and  graces  of  the 
whole  community  might  be  collected  and  concentrated  into  a 
focus,  and  each  believer  might  stand  at  pleasure  under  its 
salutary  and  transforming  influence ;  that  scope  might  be 
afforded  for  the  exercise  of  sympathy,  and  forbearance,  and 
holy  emulation  ;  that  each  might  feel  his  weakness  supported, 


00  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

and  his  courage  animated,  by  the  presence  of  the  whole  — 
feel  that,  although  he  is  "  the  least  of  all  saints,"  he  is  a  vital 
member  of  an  organized  body,  allied  to  Christ,  the  living 
Head,  and,  through  Him,  identified  with  all  the  excellence  in 
the  universe. 

But  the  great  ulterior  object  of  forming  them  into  a  church, 
is  the  increase  of  their  usefulness  to  the  world ;  and  hence  it 
is  that  every  increase  of  their  own  prosperity  is  so  much  in- 
crease of  their  capacity  for  usefulness.  In  other  words,  in 
the  formation  and  design  of  this  church,  we  behold  that  prin- 
ciple of  mutual  dependence  and  reciprocal  influence,  which 
sin  had  perverted  into  the  means  of  the  world's  destruction, 
recovering  its  original  value  as  the  means  of  the  world's  re- 
generation ;  for  here,  "  the  communion  of  the  saints,"  by 
heightening  their  piety,  quickening  their  activity,  and  com- 
bining their  resources,  increases  their  fitness  for  the  world's 
conversion. 

As  a  church,  the  mere  circumstance  of  their  separation 
from  the  world  is,  of  itself,  sufficient  to  attract  attention. 
Their  number  invests  them  with  comparative  importance. 
Their  formation  into  a  visible  society  raises  them  into  the 
rank  of  a  distinct  power.  If  we  wish  to  render  an  object 
conspicuous,  we  detach  it  from  surrounding  objects,  and  place 
it  apart ;  and  if  we  wish  to  make  it  still  more  conspicuous, 
we  increase  it,  multiply  it  to  the  utmost.  The  light  of  the 
sun  is  composed  of  particles  inconceivably  minute,  which, 
taken  separately,  and  placed  at  a  distance  from  each  other, 
would  be  lost  in  darkness ;  but,  collected  into  that  glorious 
orb,  it  attracts  the  eyes  of  ten  thousand  worlds,  and  becomes 
an  image  of  the  glory  of  God  himself.  Believers  are  to  shine 
as  lights  in  the  world ;  but  this  end  they  answer  best  when 
their  radiance  is  collected  into  the  orb  of  a  Christian  church. 

As  a  church,  they  are  raised  into  an  independence  of  the 
world ;  and  thus  furnish  mankind  with  a  standing  represen- 
tation of  another  world ;  of  other  laws  than  earth  obeys ;  and 
of  a  higher  order  of  enjoyment  and  power  than  man  pos- 
sesses, derived  from  a  source  superior  to  all  created  means. 
Its  union  to  him,  and  oneness  with  him,  make  it  independent 
of  all  the  universe  besides. 

As  a  church,  they  are  to  acquire,  and  wield  an  influence 
of  a  character  essentially  distinct  from  that  of  all  around,  and 
incomparably  superior  to  it.  Whatever  the  moral  state  of 
the  world  may  be,  their  fitness  to  improve  it   will  depend, 


STATED   AND   EXPLAINED.  61 

under  God,  on  the  breadth  and  distinctness  of  the  line  of 
demarkation  which  separates  them  from  it,  and  on  the  per- 
fection of  contrast  to  the  world  which  they  exhibit.  The 
world,  for  instance,  is  selfish,  acts  without  reference  to  a  su- 
preme will,  and  constitutes  itself  the  end  of  all  it  does.  How 
important,  then,  that  they  should  imbody  the  self-sacrificing 
spirit  of  Christ !  To  do  this  by  halves  only,  to  study  their 
own  aggrandizement,  or  to  live  in  comparative  indolence  and 
luxury,  would  be  to  symbolize  with  the  world,  and  to  confirm 
it  in  its  besetting  sin.  But  they  are  to  exhibit  that  fiction  of 
the  world — a  life  of  self-denial.  By  relinquishing  all  de- 
lights, all  passions,  all  pursuits,  by  which  the  world  is  en- 
grossed and  enslaved,  and  by  going  out  of  themselves,  aban- 
doning themselves,  evincing  a  readiness  to  sacrifice  life  itself 
in  the  cause  of  Christ,  they  are  to  stand  out  in  vivid  contrast 
with  the  selfishness  of  the  world,  silently  to  condemn  it,  to 
proclaim  a  will  higher-  than  human,  the  responsibility  of  men 
to  that  will,  and  the  supreme  happiness  of  absolute  confor- 
mity to  it.  And  thus  they  are  to  prepare  men  to  hear  with 
effect  of  that  sacrifice  compared  with  which  nothing  else  can 
ever  deserve  the  name. 

The  world  is  sensual,  supremely  influenced  by  the  visible 
and  the  present.  The  constancy  and  force  with  which  the 
human  body  gravitates  to  the  earth  is  only  an  emblem  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  universal  heart  of  man  tends  to  the  con- 
cerns and  objects  of  the  world.  But  the  members  of  this 
new  society  are  to  come  out  from  the  world,  and  to  "  be  sep- 
arate ;  "  "  to  love  not  the  world,  nor  the  things  of  the  world ; " 
"  to  set  their  affections  on  things  above."  The  cross  is  to 
them  the  perpetual  memorial  of  a  nobler  world,  the  represent- 
ative of  the  most  glorious  being  there,  and  the  medium  of 
constant  communication  with  it.  As  if  they  were  daily  stand- 
ing in  the  open  portal  of  that  celestial  state,  and  surveying 
the  glories  within,  they  are  to  evince  a  decided  superiority  to 
all  the  objects  of  worldly  pursuit.  And  as  if  they  were  em- 
powered to  take  others  with  them  there,  and  were  only  waiting 
here  till  they  had  succeeded,  they  are  to  move  among  them 
as  men  not  of  this  world ;  angels  partly  on  the  wing. 

Now  this  twofold  principle  of  worldly  selfishness,  or  selfish 
sensuality,  is  the  ruling  principle  of  man  and  the  essence  of 
his  guilt.  How  important,  then,  that  the  Christian  church 
should  stand  out  from  the  world  in  bold  and  bright  relief,  as 


62  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

the  representative  of  the  pure  and  unworldly  benevolence  of 
the  cross ! 

As  a  church,  the  faithful  are  intrusted  with  means  emi- 
nently calculated  to  affect  and  benefit  the  world  around. 
They  possess  the  ministry  of  reconciliation — and  of  what 
use  is  that  but  to  "  beseech  men  to  be  reconciled  to  God  "  1 
They  are  encouraged  to  pray,  as  a  church,  by  a  promise  of 
divine  success  greater  than  any  which  is  guarantied  to  their 
separate  and  solitary  requests.  "  If  two  of  you  shall  agree 
on  earth  as  touching  any  thing  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be 
done  for  them  of  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  For  where 
two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I 
in  the  midst  of  them."  We  are  assured  that,  in  reclaiming 
the  sinner,  "  the  effectual  fervent  prayer"  of  even  one  of  the 
faithful  "  availeth  much."  But  here  is  a  promise  made  to 
the  united  prayer  of  the  church,  over  and  above  that  which 
is  made  to  private  devotion,  and  a  power  conferred  on  it 
greater  than  that  which  is  promised  to  all  its  members  praying 
separately. 

As  a  church,  they  have  a  special  sphere  of  labor.  How- 
ever small  the  circle  of  Christian  influence  which  each  one 
separately  filled  before,  from  the  moment  they  constitute  a 
church,  the  hand  that  so  formed  them  may  be  regarded  as 
drawing  around  them  a  circle  which  includes  "  the  region 
round  about."  As  a  church,  they  are  now  charged  with  a 
collective  responsibility ;  all  the  souls  within  that  circle  are 
in  a  measure  given  into  their  hands.  And  hence  all  their 
means  —  the  mite  of  the  widow  and  the  wealth  of  the  afflu- 
ent, the  leisure  of  one  and  the  learning  of  another,  the  ardor 
of  the  young,  the  wisdom  of  the  aged,  the  resources  of  all, 
are  to  be  combined  and  devoted  to  the  object  of  saving  them. 
Here,  the  motto  of  each  is  to  be,  "  None  of  us  liveth  to  him- 
self; "  —  each  one  is  assigned  a  post  of  labor  ;  the  influence 
of  each,  by  union  with  all,  is  made  to  be  felt ;  and  as  often 
as  others  are  added  to  them,  they  are  to  regard  the  circle  as 
proportionally  enlarged,  and  are  again  to  fill  it  to  the  cir- 
cumference with  the  influence  of  the  cross. 

3.  In  this  way  other  churches  are  supposed  to  be  planted. 
Each  of  these  becomes  the  centre  of  a  new  circumference. 
Every  place  to  which  its  influence  reaches  is  to  be  a  point 
for  extending  it  farther  still.  Bursting  the  limits  of  neigh- 
borhood, and  the  confines  of  country,  they  are  to  carry  the 


STATED   AND   EXPLAINED.  63 

cross  into  other  lands,  there  to  rally  around  it  other  hearts, 
and  thus  to  obtain  the  means  of  further  conquests  still.  Now, 
if  the  influence  of  the  first  converts  was  augmented  by  collect- 
ing them  into  one  compact  society,  would  it  not  proportionally 
augment  the  influence  of  these  several  societies,  if  they  were 
all  sympathetically  united,  and  visibly  to  cooperate  as  one 
church  ?  True,  the  obstacles  are  great,  the  sources  of  dis- 
union and  division  many ;  but  so  much  the  greater  the  influ- 
ence which  would  arise  from  the  spectacle  of  their  union. 
For  in  that  event,  their  union  would  be  their  strength,  not 
only  by  increasing  their  actual  resources,  but  also  by  evin- 
cing to  the  world  the  surpassing  power  of  that  principle  which 
could  thus  harmonize  their  jarring  natures,  and  fuse  all  their 
hearts  and  interests  into  one. 

Now,  this,  we  know,  is  the  third  step  in  the  Scripture  the- 
ory of  Christian  instrumentality  for  the  conversion  of  the 
world.  So  essential  a  part  of  the  theory  is  this,  that  the 
Savior  more  than  commanded,  he  prayed  for  it ;  prayed  for 
it  at  the  foot  of  the  cross ;  prayed  for  it  there  as  a  means  of  the 
world's  conversion  —  "  That  they  all  may  be  one  *  *  *  *  that 
the  world  may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me."  The  reason 
of  their  union  as  a  whole,  is  one  of  the  very  reasons  of  their 
existence  at  all  —  the  conversion  of  the  world.  Diversified 
as  they  are  in  mind,  country,  condition,  age,  one  subject  of 
emulation  is  to  displace  every  other  —  who  shall  do  most  for 
the  diffusion  of  that  love  which  draws  them  to  the  cross,  and 
which  there  binds  them  to  each  other  1  Zeal  is  to  come 
from  one  part  of  the  church,  to  be  directed  by  Wisdom  from 
another  part.  Here,  agents  of  mercy  are  sent  forth ;  and, 
there,  they  are  met  by  funds  for  their  support.  The  convic- 
tion that  in  every  enterprise  of  benevolence  they  carry  with 
them  the  sympathies  and  prayers  of  the  church,  keeps  them, 
on  the  one  hand,  from  the  thought  of  declining,  and  puts 
them,  on  the  other,  on  deeds  of  heroism  in  the  cause  of  God 
which  call  forth  the  glad  applauses  of  Heaven.  Such  a  union 
of  love  in  a  selfish  world  could  not  fail  to  arrest  the  public 
eye,  and  to  assail  and  affect  the  public  heart.  But  not  long 
would  the  world  be  left  to  speculate  and  wonder  about  it. 
They  would  find  that  the  church  had  united  for  an  object  ■ — 
that  that  object  was  their  conversion  —  that  they  were  actually 
beleaguered  and  assailed  in  every  form,  and  on  every  side,  by 
the  united  and  irresistible  forces  of  Christian  love.  Thus 
while,  within  itself,  the  church  presents  the  attractive   and 


64  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

glorious  spectacle  of  a  universal  feast  of  love ;  in  relation  to 
those  without,  it  is  to  present  one  scene  of  spiritual  enter- 
prise and  commerce,  carried  on  for  the  advantage  of  the 
world  at  large,  and  visible  to  the  universe.  Convinced  that 
such  a  union  of  love  in  a  selfish  world  could  be  only  resolved 
into  a  heavenly  cause,  mankind  would  be  the  more  prepared 
to  recognize  the  divinity  of  the  Savior's  claims,  and  grate- 
fully to  capitulate  to  his  offered  grace. 

4.  But  now  comes  the  last  step  —  the  crowning  influence 
—  that  without  which  all  the  other  parts  of  the  theory  are 
useless  —  the  effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  whole. 
His  presence,  indeed,  is,  as  has  been  already  remarked,  essen- 
tial, and  is  taken  for  granted,  in  the  renovation  of  each  indi- 
vidual heart,  and  in  the  formation  of  every  separate  church. 
In  the  scheme  of  salvation,  every  instrument  and  agent  has 
its  appropriate  place,  and  its  appointed  order  of  succession. 
In  that  arrangement,  the  Spirit  is  the  prime  mover  of  the 
whole.  But  his  full  impartation  is  reserved  for  the  combina- 
tion of  the  whole.  Mightily  as  that  spectacle  of  Christian 
union  is  calculated  to  tell  on  the  sinful  influences  of  earth, 
as  mightily  is  it  to  tell,  in  another  respect,  on  the  divine 
influences  of  heaven.  It  is  to  draw  down  the  very  source  of 
influence  himself.  "  For  there  is  one  body  and  one  Spirit "  — 
an  entire  body  for  an  entire  spirit.  Having  drawn  them  to 
one  centre,  and  there  united  them  in  one  object,  that  he 
might  exhibit  and  employ  them  in  one  body,  he  is  then  to 
animate  and  inhabit  them  as  the  one  soul  of  the  whole.  It  is 
then  to  appear  that  their  union  is  cemented,  not  only  by  him, 
but  for  him ;  for  only  let  that  union  be  complete,  and  forth- 
with he  will  be  seen  impelling  the  entire  body  of  the  faithful 
to  one  undivided  effort  for  the  conversion  of  the  world  —  his 
sword  the  weapon  they  employ  —  his  inspiration  animating 
them  to  the  fight  —  his  unmeasured  power,  as  the  great  Mis- 
sionary Spirit  of  the  church,  convincing  the  world  of  sin, 
and,  as  the  Glorifier  of  Jesus,  crowning  their  instrumentality 
with  complete  success. 

Here,  then,  we  behold  an  answer  to  the  question  which  we 
lately  proposed  —  Where  is  the  agency,  and  what  is  the  plan, 
for  drawing  the  world  to  the  cross  ?  Here  is  an  agency  or- 
ganized expressly  for  this,  and  useful  for  nothing  else.  Here, 
if  we  briefly  examine,  we  shall  find  that  every  element  at 
work  is  an  element  of  influence  in  harmony  with  the  cross, 
and   subordinate  to  it.     The   same  agencies,  which,  in  the 


STATED   AND   EXPLAINED.  65 

world,  operate  against  the  cross,  will  here  be  found  to  oper- 
ate for  it ;  and  other  agencies,  of  which  the  world  knows 
nothing,  are  here  called  into  existence,  and  added  to  them. 

Knowledge  is  a  means  of  usefulness  —  "  is  power."  "  There 
is  no  power  on  earth,"  said  the  great  man  who  originated 
that  proverb,  "  which  setteth  up  a  throne,  or  chair  of  state, 
in  the  spirits  and  souls  of  men,  but  knowledge."  He  who  is 
the  discoverer  or  sole  possessor  of  a  moral  truth,  has  it  in  his 
power  to  exercise  a  sovereignty  which  approaches  nearer  than 
any  other  to  the  likeness  of  the  divine  rule.  Not  only  is  he 
stronger  than  any  other  man,  or  than  any  given  number  of 
men,  but  stronger  than  all  the  race  together.  Now,  the  Chris- 
tian has  had  disclosed  to  him  the  doctrine  of  the  cross.  His 
hand  is  on  a  lever  which  can  move  the  world  —  on  the  lever 
which  shall  move  it  —  and  his  hand  is  there  that  instrument- 
ally  he  may  attempt  to  move  it.  Moses,  descending  radiant 
from  divine  communion,  in  the  mount ;  —  the  High  Priest 
reappearing  from  within  the  mysterious  veil ;  —  Isaiah,  fresh 
from  the  visions  of  the  Lord,  never  returned  to  the  waiting 
and  breathless  people  with  a  burden  so  precious  —  a  truth  so 
great  —  as  that  which  he  holds.  It  is  that  from  which  all 
other  truths  derive  their  force;  it  comes  "not  in  word  only, 
but  in  power ;  "  it  is,  emphatically,  "  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth."  It  enables  him  to  give 
back  the  world  to  God;  and,  by  unveiling  the  Great  Pro- 
pitiation, to  contribute  towards  giving  back  to  God  a  world. 

Speech  is  a  means  of  influence.  It  is  the  great  instrument 
for  the  interchange  of  thought  and  feeling.  The  thoughts  of 
a  community  are  by  this  means  kept  in  perpetual  circulation, 
and  the  long-cherished  sentiment  of  a  private  individual  is 
propagated  till  it  acquires  the  force  and  universality  of  a  law, 
and  "  sets  on  fire  the  whole  course  of  nature."  To  say  noth- 
ing of  the  power  of  public  oratory,  the  simplest  conversation 
has  an  effect  on  the  minds  of  those  who  engage  in  it,  regu- 
lated by  laws  as  certain  as  those  which  direct  the  lightning 
in  its  course.  So  that  never  do  we  come  out  from  such  in- 
tercourse the  same  persons  as  we  entered.  The  most  casual 
remark  lives  forever  in  its  effects.  There  is  not  a  word 
which  has  not  a  moral  history.  Hence  the  Satanic  art  of 
calling  all  evil  things  by  harmless  names ;  and  hence  it  is, 
too,  that  every  "  idle  word "  which  men  utter,  assumes  a 
character  so  important,  that  it  will  be  made  a  subject  of 
inquest  in  the  general  judgment. 
6* 


66  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

But  the  Christian  is  taught  to  regard  the  faculty  of  speech 
as  a  vehicle  and  means  of  grace.  If  the  noblest  use  of  his 
reason  be  to  know  God,  the  highest  employment  of  his  speech 
must  be  to  impart  that  knowledge ;  and  the  highest  knowl- 
edge of  Him  which  he  can  impart  is  surely  that  for  which 
Christ  himself  assumed  the  power  of  human  speech,  and  to 
the  announcement  of  which  he  devoted  it.  In  the  church, 
language  is  promoted  into  the  grand  ordinance  of  preaching 
Christ.  Whoever  his  audience  may  be,  the  Christian  is  to 
"  minister  grace  to  the  hearers."  Even  when  he  is  not  con- 
versing on  grace,  his  speech  is  to  be  "  always  with  grace ;  " 
in  harmony  with  his  religious  character,  and  favorable  to  a 
hallowed  impression.  Like  the  narrative  and  incidental  parts 
of  Scripture,  it  is  to  illustrate  and  subserve  the  sacred  and 
saving  tendency  of  the  whole.  In  the  salvation  of  the  cross, 
the  gospel  has  supplied  him  with  a  theme  of  which  his  heart 
is  supposed  to  be  full ;  and  "  he  cannot  but  speak  the  things 
which  he  has  heard  and  seen."  Every  man  he  meets  is  in- 
terested in  it  as  deeply  as  himself.  Every  individual  he  ad- 
dresses may  be  perishing  through  want  of  it.  Every  conver- 
sation he  holds  with  others  affords  him  an  opportunity  of 
introducing  it.  Every  word  he  has  to  utter  concerning  it,  is 
"  good  news."  Unless  he  speak,  they  may  die  in  ignorance 
of  it ;  —  and  he  is  held  conditionally  responsible  for  every 
word  he  might  have  uttered,  but  omitted ;  and  for  every  soul 
that  perishes  through  that  neglect.  "  He  believes,  and  there- 
fore speaks."  As  if  his  lips  had  been  touched  with  sacred 
fire,  or  sprinkled  with  consecrating  blood,  he  is  to  stand  in 
the  midst  of  his  circle  as  the  oracle  of  the  cross.  His  words 
are  no  longer  his  own ;  as  if  his  were  the  tongue  of  Christ 
himself,  or  the  only  tongue  on  earth  that  could  testify  of  the 
wonders  of  the  cross,  he  is  to  regard  himself  as  set  apart  to 
bear  witness  of  Christ.  And  as  it  is  his  office,  so  it  is  to  be 
his  holy  ambition,  so  to  announce  and  make  him  known,  that 
at  the  close  of  life,  and  even  of  each  day  of  life,  he  may  be 
able  to  say,  as  Christ  himself  appealed  to  the  Father,  and 
said,  though  in  an  inferior  sense,  "  I  have  declared  unto  them 
thy  name,  and  will  declare  it." 

Relationship,  whether  natural  or  acquired,  is  a  means  of 
usefulness.  The  parent,  for  instance,  possesses  an  influence 
over  his  offspring  more  powerful  than  the  mightiest  monarch 
ever  swayed  over  his  subjects.  His  voice  is  the  first  music 
they  hear ;  his  smiles  their  bliss ;  his  authority,  the  image 


STATED   AND   EXPLAINED.  67 

and  substitute  of  the  divine  authority.  So  absolute  is  the 
law  which  impels  them  to  believe  his  every  word,  to  imitate 
his  every  tone,  gesture,  and  action,  and  to  receive  the  in- 
effaceable impressions  of  his  character,  that  his  every  move- 
ment drops  a  seed  into  the  virgin  soil  of  their  hearts,  to  ger- 
minate there  for  eternity.  His  influence,  by  blending  itself 
with  their  earliest  conceptions,  and  incorporating  with  the 
very  elements  of  their  constitution,  and  by  the  constancy, 
subtlety,  variety,  and  power  of  its  operation,  gives  him  a 
command  over  their  character  and  destiny,  which  renders  it 
the  most  appropriate  emblem  on  earth  of  the  influence  of 
God  himself. 

Now,  there  is  not  a  member  of  the  human  family  who  does 
not  sustain  some  relation,  original  or  acquired,  public  or 
private,  permanent  or  temporary  —  nor  is  there  any  relation 
which  does  not  invest  the  person  sustaining  it  with  some  de- 
gree of  influence.  The  particle  of  dust  which  we  heedlessly 
tread  beneath  our  foot,  propagates  its  influence  beyond  the 
remotest  planet,  and  is  felt  through  all  space.  And  though 
a  man  may  be  apparently  standing  on  the  outermost  verge  of 
the  social  system,  he  forms  a  vital  link  in  the  great  chain  of 
dependence  which  runs  through  the  universe,  linking  man 
to  man,  age  to  age,  and  world  to  world.  The  connection, 
indeed,  may  not  be  visible  to  us  to  any  great  distance ;  yet 
does  it  exist  as  really  as  if  he  found  himself  standing  in  the 
centre  of  the  universe,  with  visible  lines  of  relation  drawn 
from  himself  to  every  one  of  the  congregated  myriads  ;  nor 
is  it  possible  to  detach  him  from  the  mighty  whole.  And  — 
what  is  of  importance  to  remark  —  not  only  is  there  no  re- 
lation of  life  which  does  not  invest  the  person  sustaining  it 
with  some  degree  of  influence,  but  which  does  not  afford 
him  the  power  of  exerting  an  influence  in  it  which  no  other 
being  on  earth  possesses. 

Here,  then,  is  an  important  talent  which  the  Christian  is 
supposed  to  occupy  for  Christ.  As  if  the  relations  which  he 
sustains  had  been  appointed  now  for  the  first  time,  and  ap- 
pointed expressly  to  give  him  a  sphere  of  Christian  influence, 
he  is  to  hold  them  chiefly  for  Christ.  And,  indeed,  for  what 
but  holy  purposes  were  the  primary  and  principal  relations 
of  life  designed  at  first]  For  "did  he  not  make  one?  yet 
had  he  the  residue  of  the  Spirit.  And  wherefore  one  ?  That 
he  might  seek  a  godly  seed."  So  that,  in  holding  his  rela- 
tionships for  Christ,  the  renewed  man  is  but  restoring  them 


68  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

to  the  purpose  from  which  sin  has  dissevered  them.  Is  he  a 
parent  1  "  The  promise  is  unto  him  and  to  his  children." 
As  he  is  related  to  the  first  Adam,  they  receive  from  him 
nothing  but  an  inheritance  of  guilt,  degradation,  and  death ; 
but  as  related  to  the  second,  he  is  to  aim  to  cut  off  the  dread- 
ful entail,  and  to  train  them  to  be  sons  and  daughters  of  the 
Lord  Almighty ;  as  if  they  had  been  sent  down  to  him  in 
angel  arms  from  heaven  with  a  divine  command  to  train  them 
for  Christ.  He  is  to  radiate  on  them  nothing  but  hallowed 
influence.  Their  first  lispings  are  to  be  of  Christ;  their  first 
imaginings  of  his  love ;  and  their  earliest  steps  to  his  foot- 
stool. The  influence  of  his  Christian  character  is  to  sur- 
round them  like  the  atmosphere  of  a  temple ;  that,  by  being 
breathed  and  mingled  with  their  earliest  being,  it  may  become 
an  elementary  part  of  their  character.  As  if  they  had  been 
sent  to  him  expressly  with  a  divine  charge  to  illustrate  before 
the  world  the  power  and  excellence  of  Christian  influence,  he 
is  to  set  himself  apart  to  the  grand  experiment  of  ascertain- 
ing the  greatest  amount  of  good  which  sanctified  parental 
agency  is  calculated  to  effect;  how  completely  it  can  sever 
and  secure  them  from  all  counter  agencies ;  how  early  it  can 
affect  them ;  and  how  devoted  and  useful  it  can  render  them 
as  instruments  for  propagating  the  same  influence  among 
others.  In  this  way  he  is  to  illustrate  the  tremendous  opera- 
tion of  sin  in  having  perverted  a  relationship  meant  for  the 
transmission  of  nothing  but  good  into  a  channel  for  the  dis- 
charge of  an  ever-swelling  flood  of  destruction  ;  and  the  tran- 
scendent influence  of  the  cross,  which,  like  the  tree  of  Marah, 
tends  to  medicate  its  fatal  bitterness,  and  to  turn  it  into  a 
stream  of  salvation. 

But,  whatever  the  relations  which  he  sustains  to  others,  he  is 
to  regard  the  influence  resulting  from  it  as  a  cord  for  drawing 
them  to  Christ.  There  is  a  sense,  indeed,  in  which  he  stands 
related  to  the  whole  race.  The  cross  vibrates  to  the  sounds 
of  human  misery  in  every  part  of  the  earth,  and  his  heart  is 
to  thrill  in  sympathy  with  it.  As  the  representative  of  Christ, 
he  is  to  regard  himself  as  the  centre  of  all  that  misery ;  but 
as  his  Christian  duties  lie  around  him  in  concentric  circles, 
and  as  the  first  circle  includes  those  most  nearly  related  to 
him,  nothing  will  excuse  him  for  neglecting  an  inner  for  an 
outer,  because  a  larger  circle.  In  the  day  of  final  account, 
the  first  subject  of  inquiry,  after  that  of  his  own  personal 
piety,  will  relate  to  the  salvation  of  the  souls  immediately 


STATED   AND   EXPLAINED.  69 

around  him.  How  came  your  wife,  or  child,  or  servant,  to 
perish  1  is  a  question  which  cannot  be  met  by  a  plea  that  he 
was  achieving  a  distant  good.  He  must  not  neglect  the 
Christian  welfare  of  his  own  household,  then,  even  for  the 
sublime  occupation  of  evangelizing  a  nation.  Nor  need  he  — 
his  duty  in  this  case  is  coincident  with  his  most  enlarged 
ideas.  For  by  filling  the  sphere  immediately  around  him 
first,  he  is  multiplying  his  agencies  for  a  wider  and  still  wider 
range  of  usefulness.  It  is  by  entering  into  cohesive  union 
with  the  particles  immediately  around  it,  that  the  atom  be- 
comes a  component  part  of  the  rock,  contributes  something 
towards  the  stability  of  the  everlasting  hills,  and  towards  the 
gravity  of  the  great  globe  itself;  and  by  erecting  the  cross 
in  his  own  house,  and  converting  his  own  house  into  a  church, 
and  that  church  into  a  centre  of  usefulness  to  the  neighbor- 
hood, he  is  preparing  to  subserve  most  effectually  the  interests 
of  the  race  at  large. 

Property  is  a  means  of  influence.  The  material  itself, 
indeed,  of  which  money  is  made,  is  intrinsically  worthless  ; 
yet  having,  by  the  general  consent  of  society,  been  consti- 
tuted the  representative  of  all  property,  and,  as  such,  the  key 
to  all  the  avenues  of  worldly  enjoyment,  it  excites  some  of 
the  strongest  desires,  and  reflects  some  of  the  deepest  emo- 
tions of  the  human  breast.  Its  fluctuations  are  the  tides  of 
national  fortune.  It  sways  the  heart  of  the  world.  Every 
piece  of  coin  that  passes  through  our  hand,  has  been  stream- 
ing with  influence  from  the  first  moment  it  was  put  into  cir- 
culation. It  has  a  path  through  society,  and  a  history  of  its 
own ;  rather,  it  belongs  to  the  history  of  the  world.  Industry 
has  toiled  for  it ;  enterprise  has  hazarded  life  for  it;  specula- 
tion has  gambled  for  it ;  childhood  has  eyed  it ;  poverty  rejoiced 
over  it ;  covetousness  worshipped  it ;  —  it  has  passed  through 
the  hands  of  profligacy,  intemperance,  and  all  the  vices.  How 
often  has  it  been  carried  past  the  temple  of  God  on  its  way  to 
some  shrine  of  Satan !  how  seldom  been  diverted  from  the 
service  of  sin !  Could  the  history  of  all  the  wealth  of  antiquity 
be  given,  what  should  we  hear,  but,  substantially,  the  history 
of  the  ancient  world  itself —  of  its  sensual  pleasures,  its  pro- 
jects of  ambition,  its  sanguinary  wars,  polluting  temples,  and 
national  oppressions !  How  great  the  opportunity,  then,  which 
the  Christian  possesses  of  glorifying  God  in  this  department 
alone !  While  others  are  sullenly  appropriating  every  thing 
to  themselves,  as  if  God  had  ceased  to  reign,  and  even  to 


70  CHRISTIAN   INSTRUMENTALITY 

exist,  he  is  to  consecrate  and  offer  up  his  substance,  before 
their  eyes,  as  an  oblation  to  his  glory,  and  thus  daily  to  vin- 
dicate his  claims.  While  they  are  idolizing  money,  and  ma- 
king it  the  common  object  of  their  trust,  he  is  to  strike  at  its 
very  throne,  and  to  awaken  them  from  the  dream  of  its  om- 
nipotence, by  showing  that  its  highest  value  arises  from  its 
subserviency  to  the  purposes  of  the  gospel.  He  may  not 
possess  much  —  but  he  is  to  look  on  himself  as  intrusted  with 
what  he  does  possess  partly  for  the  purpose  of  disparaging  it 
before  the  world.  Its  influence  depends,  not  on  its  amount, 
but  on  the  way  in  which  he  employs  it ;  and  by  casting  his 
"  two  mites "  into  the  temple  treasury,  he  may  at  once  be 
publicly  vindicating  the  outraged  supremacy  of  the  "  blessed 
God,"  and  asserting  the  claims  of  "  the  glorious  gospel," 
and  constraining  men,  more  than  by  a  thousand  arguments, 
to  bow  to  its  divinity. 

Self-denial  is  a  means  of  useful  influence.  So  unearthly  a 
quality  is  this,  that  no  man  can  fully  and  consistently  exhibit 
it  without  exposing  himself,  perhaps  for  years,  to  the  suspi- 
cion of  assuming  it  for  some  sinister  object  in  the  distance. 
But  does  not  this  very  incredulity,  arising  from  the  extreme 
rareness  of  true  self-denial,  hold  out  to  him  the  promise  of 
proportionate  influence  hereafter,  should  he  live  long  enough 
to  vanquish  that  incredulity,  and  to  enjoy  the  reaction  of  opin- 
ion in  his  favor?  His  self-denial,  indeed,  is  meantime  fur- 
nishing him  with  all  those  means  of  benevolence  which  self- 
indulgence  would  have  lavished  on  itself;  and  these,  by 
increasing  his  usefulness,  are  augmenting  his  influence. 
But  the  influence  which  he  acquires,  by  this  increase  of  actual 
means,  is  as  nothing  compared  with  that  which  he  obtains  by 
the  fact,  when  it  comes  to  be  known  —  that  he  denies  himself 
in  order  to  obtain  it.  The  amount  which  he  saves  may  be 
only  an  additional  mite :  but  the  fact  that  he  habitually  denies 
himself  in  order  to  obtain  it  as  a  means  of  doing  good,  will 
ultimately  invest  him  with  a  greater  moral  influence  than  the 
stranger  to  self-denial,  though  the  giver  of  thousands,  can 
ever  possess. 

Now,  Christianity  is  a  system  of  self-denial,  and  the  church 
is  supposed  to  be  its  home.  How  can  it  be  otherwise  1  Its 
centre  is  a  cross.  This  is  at  once  the  secret  of  its  influence 
to  attract,  and  the  means  of  its  power  to  save.  Having  felt 
that  attraction  and  experienced  that  power,  the  Christian  is  to 
extend  its  influence  by  exhibiting  in  his  own  life  the  image  of 


STATED   AND   EXPLAINED.  71 

the  cross.  Were  it  possible  for  him  to  live  in  worldly  self- 
indulgence,  he  would  be  doing  all  in  his  power,  not  only  to 
stop  the  influence  of  the  cross  from  extending  beyond  him- 
self, but  to  efface  from  the  memory  of  a  world  too  willing  to 
forget  —  that  Christianity  ever  had  a  cross.  The  only  evi- 
dence on  which  the  world  will  believe  that  Christ  was  volun- 
tarily crucified  for  its  redemption  is,  that  the  Christian  be 
seen,  in  the  true  spirit  of  his  Lord,  voluntarily,  and,  in  a 
sense,  vicariously,  denying  himself,  in  the  work  of  diffusing 
the  blessings  of  that  redemption. 

As  the  representative  of  the  cross,  then,  the  church  is 
charged  with  a  responsibility  which  requires  the  principle  of 
self-denial  to  pervade  the  whole  of  its  instrumentality,  and  to 
become  the  law  of  its  beneficence. 

Compassion  is  a  means  of  useful  influence.  Even  one  of  its 
tones  has  often  opened  the  heart,  when  the  rack  could  not 
open  the  lips ;  and  in  the  Christian  church  it  is  supposed  to 
reign.  The  cross  is  the  utterance  of  divine  compassion, 
and  the  church  collected  around  it  is  a  proof  of  its  power. 
The  compassion  which  bled  on  the  cross  here  beats  in  the 
hearts  of  all  its  members.  They  know  the  wretchedness  of 
sin  into  which  the  world  is  sunk  —  look  forwards  to  the  end 
of  its  course  —  hear  already  its  doom  pronounced  —  see  the 
pit  open  to  receive  it  —  and  hear,  by  anticipation,  its  hopeless 
cries  for  deliverance.  And  the  deep  anxiety  which  they  feel 
to  "  snatch  the  firebrands  from  the  flames,"  and  to  quench 
them  in  the  blood  of  the  cross,  imparts  a  depth  of  tender- 
ness to  their  tones,  an  earnestness  of  solicitude  to  their  man- 
ner, and  a  combination  and  energy  to  their  efforts,  which 
give  them  a  power  over  the  mind  beyond  that  of  the  most 
original  truths  unfeelingly  delivered,  or  the  stern  authority  of 
law  itself. 

Persevering  activity  in  the  attainment  of  a  useful  or  be- 
nevolent object  is  another  means  of  usefulness.  It  is  by  perse- 
verance that  the  small  stream  of  the  mountain,  a  thousand 
leagues  from  the  parent  sea,  conquers  intervening  obstacles, 
wears  itself  a  channel,  swells  to  a  river,  traverses  continents, 
gives  names  to  countries,  assigns  boundaries  to  empires,  and 
becomes  celebrated  in  history.  And  by  patiently  persevering 
with  his  face  and  step  always  direct  towards  his  object,  a 
single  individual  will  acquire  an  amount  of  influence  and 
success,  in  reference  to  that  object,  which  a  multitude,  pursu- 
ing it  only  by  convulsive  starts,  would  fail  to  obtain.     The 


72  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

multitude  itself,  gradually  awed  into  respect  for  his  steady 
onward  course,  will  come  at  length  to  clear  a  space,  and 
make  way  for  his  advance.  And  though  for  years  his  cause 
may  not  appear  to  be  attended  with  any  success,  an  event, 
unexpected  perhaps,  will  at  length  disclose  that  there  never 
was  a  moment  in  which  he  was  not  exciting  the  silent  admi- 
ration of  some,  and  preparing  numbers  to  fall  into  his  train, 
and  to  yield  themselves  up  entirely  to  his  influence. 

Now,  the  Christian  has  motives  to  patient  perseverance  in 
promoting  the  knowledge  of  Christ  which  no  other  object 
can  inspire,  no  other  man  can  know.  The  persisting  energy 
which  built  the  mountain  pyramids  of  Egypt  —  which  reared 
the  Chinese  wall  —  by  which  Alexander  conquered  the  old 
world  —  Columbus  discovered  the  new  —  and  Newton  elabo- 
rated the  system  of  the  universe,  had  trifles  for  its  objects, 
compared  with  the  aim  of  Christian  instrumentality  to  save 
the  world.  But  besides  the  infinite  importance  of  his  object, 
engaging,  as  it  has,  the  divine  perseverance  from  eternity, 
there  never  was  a  moment  in  the  life  of  Christ,  his  Great  Ex- 
emplar, which  was  not  directly  or  indirectly  made  subordinate 
to  it ;  there  is  not  a  moment  in  which  the  command  is  sus- 
pended, "  Be  not  weary  in  well-doing,"  "  Be  always  abounding 
in  the  work  of  the  Lord."  So  that,  unless  it  can  be  shown 
that  the  perishing  world  ever  pauses  in  its  cry  for  deliverance, 
or  that  the  destroyer  ever  pauses  in  working  the  great  system 
of  destruction,  the  Christian  can  know  no  moment  in  which 
it  is  permitted  him  to  pause  in  his  peculiar  vocation.  The 
termination  of  one  duty  is  to  be  only  a  signal  for  the  com- 
mencement of  another ;  his  life  is  to  be  one  continuous  act  of 
obedience.  Every  day  returns  charged  with  an  amount  of 
obligation  proportioned  to  his  utmost  means  of  usefulness. 
His  utmost  powers  are  to  be  constrained  into  the  service,  till 
by  the  force  of  habit  his  perseverance  becomes  invincible. 
He  is  to  live  under  the  ever-present  conviction  that  he  has 
one  thing  to  do,  and  that  he  is  in  danger  of  dying  before  it 
is  done ;  cheered  on  by  the  assurance  that  every  act  adds  a 
ray  to  the  radiance  of  that  crown  which  he  hopes  to  lay  at  his 
Savior's  feet,  and  tends  to. secure  the  perseverance  of  others 
when  he  himself  shall  have  gone  to  receive  it. 

And  this  reminds  us  that  the  great  designs  of  the  Christian 
are  entailed ;  for  the  church  on  earth,  though  mortal  in  its 
members,  as  a  community  is  undying.  History  informs  us 
of  some  governments  which,  having  formed  schemes  of  na- 


STATED   AIND    EXPLAINED.  73 

tional  aggrandizement  too  vast  to  be  accomplished  within  "  the 
hour-glass  of  one  man's  life,"  have  devolved  the  prosecution 
of  them  as  a  sacred  duty  on  those  who  came  after  them.  The 
Christian  church  is  to  exhibit  the  sublime  spectacle  of  an  un- 
earthly government,  embarked  in  an  enterprise  of  mercy  for 
all  time.  Its  members  are  "  commanded  to  make  it  known 
to  their  children,  that  the  generation  to  come  might  know  it, 
even  the  children  who  should  be  born ;  who  should  arise  and 
declare  it  to  their  children."  And  as  time  rolls  on,  the  only 
change  which  this  spiritual  government  is  to  exhibit  is  that 
which  necessarily  arises,  under  God,  from  persevering  fidelity 
to  its  original  design  —  extended  domains,  and  a  nearer  ap- 
proach to  universal  conquest.  "For  the  greatness  of  the 
kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven  shall  be  given  to  the  people 
of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High." 

Prayer  is  influence.  Appeals,  entreaties,  and  petitions, 
between  man  and  man,  move  the  affairs  of  this  world ;  but 
in  the  church  they  move  Heaven.  All  those  other  things 
which  we  have  described  as  exercising  influence,  become  spir- 
itually useful  only  by  that  power  which  descends  in  answer  to 
prayer.  Other  means  may  be  influential,  but  the  amount  of 
their  influence  is  calculable,  bearing  a  proportion  to  the 
power  employed ;  but  prayer,  by  engaging  a  divine  power,  sets 
all  calculation  at  defiance.  Other  means  may  be  good  —  but 
what  must  that  be,  the  effect  of  which  is  to  bring  down  Good- 
ness himself?  —  and  yet  here  the  entire  church  is  supposed  to 
be  in  daily,  unceasing,  impassioned  entreaty  for  the  Spirit  to 
"  convince  the  world  of  sin." 

Union  is  a  means  of  usefulness.  And  here  it  is  supposed 
to  be  universal,  visible,  divine.  As  to  each  individual ;  here 
is  the  union  of  the  whole  man  —  all  his  principles  and  pas- 
sions combined  —  no  part  of  his  nature  wanting  —  no  part 
shedding  a  counter-influence  —  the  whole  man  bound  and 
braced  up  for  one  purpose,  as  if  devoted  to  the  grand  experi- 
ment of  ascertaining  how  much  a  single  human  agent  can 
effect  in  the  cause  of  Christ.  Here  is  the  union  of  a  number 
of  these  in  a  particular  church  —  in  which  none  is  inactive 
—  each  has  his  post  —  all  act  in  concert  —  the  whole  blent 
into  a  single  power,  and  putting  forth  an  undivided  effort  to 
draw  the  world  around  them  to  Christ.  Here  is  the  union 
of  all  these  distinct  societies  in  one  collective  body  —  bring- 
ing together  agencies  the  most  distant  —  harmonizing  mate- 
rials once  the  most  discordant  —  blending   hearts   naturally 


74  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

the  most  selfish  in  bands  more  tender  than  those  of  kin- 
dred, and  so  sympathetic  that  the  emotion  of  one  thrills 
through  them  all  —  a  union  which  economizes  and  combines 
all  the  energies  and  passions  of  sanctified  humanity  —  which, 
collecting  all  the  scattered  agencies  of  good  that  earth  con- 
tains, organizes  them  into  a  vast  engine  whose  entire  power 
is  to  be  brought  to  bear  for  the  conversion  of  the  world. 
And  then,  not  merely  in  addition  to,  but  infinitely  more  than 
all,  here  is  the  union  of  Divine  Influence  with  the  whole  — 
heaven  come  down  to  earth  —  the  powers  of  the  future  world 
imparted  to  the  present  —  the  Spirit  himself,  in  a  sense,  in- 
carnate —  pervading  his  body,  the  church  —  investing  it  with 
unearthly  power  —  and  employing  it  as  the  organ  of  an  al- 
mighty influence  for  recovering  the  world  to  Christ. 

Such,  then,  is  an  outline  of  the  Scripture  theory  of  that 
agency  by  which  Christ  proposes  to  reclaim  the  world.  Can 
we  forbear  to  admire  the  simplicity  of  its  principle  ?  It  is 
simply  the  law  of  reciprocal  influence,  baptized  in  the  blood 
of  the  cross,  and  endued  with  the  energy  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
All  in  God  that  can  influence  is  brought  to  bear,  through 
the  cross,  on  all  in  man  that  can  be  influenced,  and  the 
whole  of  that  is  then  put  into  requisition  by  the  Spirit  to 
influence  others.  If  this  theory  were  realized,  could  we  ques- 
tion its  efficiency  1  Of  all  who  are  brought  within  its  scope, 
each  of  them  is  prepared  to  say,  "  None  of  us  liveth  to  him- 
self; " —  and  what  but  the  expansion  of  that  sentiment  is 
necessary  to  fill  the  world  with  the  influence  of  the  ci 
Could  we  doubt  its  ultimate  and  universal  triumph?  What, 
when  the  Spirit  himself  had  come  down  to  work  the  entire 
system  ?  What,  when  the  church  withheld  nothing  that 
could  influence,  and  the  Spirit  withheld  nothing  that  could 
crown  that  influence  with  success  1  If  even  the  secret  tear 
of  an  obscure  penitent  on  earth  creates  a  sensation  among 
the  seraphim,  the  "  travail  "  of  such  an  agency  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  world  would  carry  with  it  the  sympathies  of  the 
whole  universe.  God  would  bless  it ;  and  "  all  the  ends  of  the 
earth  would  fear  him." 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  SCRIPTURE.         75 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  THEORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY  FOR  THE 
CONVERSION  OF  THE  WORLD  ILLUSTRATED  AND  EN- 
FORCED   FROM    THE    WORD    OF    GOD. 

If  it  be  true  that  the  Christian  church  is  thus  constructed 
expressly  to  imbody  and  diffuse  the  influence  of  the  cross  — 
and  if  its  full  efficiency  for  this  end  depends,  under  God,  on 
the  entireness  of  its  consecration  to  this  office  —  we  may  take 
it  for  granted  that  this  truth  will  not  only  bear  to  be  subjected 
to  certain  appropriate  tests,  but  that  all  the  results  of  such  an 
examination  can  only  tend  to  illustrate  its  importance,  and  to 
enforce  its  practical  application. 

If  the  economy  of  Christian  influence  be  more  than  a  tem- 
porary expedient  to  meet  an  emergency  —  if  it  form  a  part  of 
an  original  plan — may  we  not  expect  to  find,  for  instance, 
that  he  who  "  sees  the  end  from  the  beginning,"  and  who  so 
often  sketches  an  outline  of  the  future  in  the  events  of  the 
present  or  the  past,  has  indicated  his  purpose  in  the  dispen- 
sations which  preceded  it  ?  Accordingly,  we  find  that,  from 
the  moment  when  the  first  promise  was  announced,  the  in- 
strumentality employed  to  impart  it  was  calculated  to  give  it 
the  widest  diffusion  and  the  greatest  effect. 

I.  During  the  long  lapse  of  years  prior  to  the  flood,  this 
instrumentality  was  domestic,  or  patriarchal.  By  creating 
one  common  father  of  the  species,  making  him  the  depositary 
of  the  first  communication  from  heaven,  and  prolonging  his 
life  to  nearly  a  thousand  years,  the  Almighty  may  be  regarded 
as  making  the  wisest  and  most  gracious  arrangement  for  the 
welfare  of  his  fallen  posterity.  For  in  each  and  all  of  the 
myriads  to  which  they  had  multiplied,  Adam  would  only  be- 
hold the  multiplications  of  himself,  and  would  therefore  be 
supposed  to  feel  a  father's  yearning  solicitude  for  their  re- 
covery to  God.  And  even  as  late  as  "  in  the  days  of  Noe," 
the  comparative  recency  of  the  fall,  and  its  immediate  results, 
by  rendering  these  results  so  much  the  more  impressive  and 
personally  interesting ;  the  small  amount  and  the  simplicity  of 
the  revelation  which  had  then  been  made,  by  rendering  it  so 
much  the  easier  to  be  remembered  and  imparted  ;  the  univer- 


76  CHRISTIAN    II^STRUMENTALITY 

sal  prevalence  of  the  same  language,  by  rendering  it  so  much 
the  easier  to  diffuse  that  knowledge  universally  ;  and  the  con- 
tinued longevity  of  man,  by  enabling  one  party  to  speak  with 
the  authority  and  tenderness  of  a  parent,  disposing  the  other 
to  listen  with  the  docility  and  faith  of  children,  and  giving  to 
each  a  family  interest  in  the  religious  welfare  of  all  —  afforded 
facilities  for  diffusing  the  knowledge  of  God,  which  strikingly 
evinced  his  readiness  to  save,  and  loudly  called  on  all  to  in- 
culcate and  exhibit  that  faith  by  which  Abel  M  obtained  wit- 
ness that  he  was  righteous,"  and  Enoch  "  had  this  testimony, 
that  he  pleased  God." 

II.  The  patriarchal  dispensation,  subsequent  to  the  deluge, 
was  migratory.  By  calling,  and  "  preaching  the  gospel  to 
Abraham"*  —  removing  him  from  province  to  province 
through  a  protracted  life  —  investing  him  with  importance 
in  the  eyes  of  the  nations  among  whom  he  sojourned  —  send- 
ing his  posterity  into  Egypt,  and  keeping  them  there  for  ages 
as  a  marked  and  distinct  people  —  leading  them  out  by  mira- 
cle—  conducting  them  slowly  and  circuitously  to  Canaan  as 
an  entire  "  church  "  —  by  these  means,  not  only  did  the  Al- 
mighty render  the  truth  migratory,  and  afford  every  nation 
which  it  visited  an  opportunity  of  learning  it — he  may  also 
be  regarded  as  intimating  the  aggressive  and  missionary  char- 
acter of  his  future  church,  and  the  entireness  with  which  it 
should  unite  and  consecrate  all  its  resources  to  accomplish  its 
march  through  the  world. 

III.  The  Mosaic  dispensation  was  national  and  stationary. 
Yet,  differing  as  it  did  in  this  respect  from  the  preceding,  it 
contained  every  prerequisite  for  answering  its  end  as  a  local 
witness  for  God,  and  for  proving  a  universal  blessing.  It  was 
first  a  focus  in  which  all  the  rays  of  revelation  met,  that  it 
might  next  be  a  centre  whence  the  light  of  truth  should  ra- 
diate and  pour  forth  in  all  directions  over  the  face  of  the 
earth.  Nothing  was  omitted  from  its  character  and  constitu- 
tion calculated  to  promote  this  gracious  design.  Its  early 
history  was  a  history  of  miracles,  to  excite  the  attention  and 
draw  to  itself  the  eyes  of  the  wonder-loving  world;  its  ritual 
was  splendid  and  unique ;  its  members  were  distinguished  in 
character  from  those  of  every  other  people  on  the  face  of  the 

*  Gal.  iii.  8. 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   SCRIPTURE.  77 

earth  ;  its  creed  or  testimony  was  eminently  adapted  to  the 
existing  state  of  the  world,  for  it  proclaimed  a  God  and  prom- 
ised a  Savior  ;  its  members  possessed  a  deep  personal  interest 
in  the  truth  of  the  testimony  they  gave ;  and,  what  was  espe- 
cially important,  its  geographical  position  was  central.*  That 
large  portion  of  the  earth,  whose  waters  flow  into  the  Mediter- 
ranean, is  the  grand  historical  portion  of  the  world  as  known 
to  the  ancients.  Judea  was  situated  in  the  midst  of  it,  like 
the  sun  in  the  centre  of  the  solar  system.  Placed  at  the  top 
of  the  Mediterranean,  it  was,  during  each  successive  mon- 
archy, always  within  sight  of  the  nations ;  and  its  temple-fires, 
like  the  Pharos  of  the  world,  were  always  flinging  their  warn- 
ing light  across  the  gross  darkness  of  heathenism,  protesting 
against  idolatry,  proclaiming  the  one  living  and  true  God, 
inviting  the  nations  to  come  and  worship  before  him,  and 
foretelling  the  advent  of  One  whose  light  should  enlighten  the 
world.  The  very  site  of  its  temple  was  prophetic  ;  placed  on 
the  summit  of  Zion,  it  foretold  that  "  it  shall  come  to  pass  in 
the  last  days,  that  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be 
established  in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be  exalted 
above  the  hills,  and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it." 

And  thus,  though  the  Jewish  economy  was  essentially  na- 
tional and  stationary,  yet  so  far  from  being  exclusive,  it  was 
studiously  adapted  to  bless  the  entire  race.  Its  history  attested 
an  omnipresent  providence.  Its  moral  laws  were  of  universal 
obligation.  Its  sacrifices  proclaimed  the  divine  placability, 
and  said,  "  Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  ye  ends  of  the 
earth."  The  name  selected  and  inscribed  on  his  temple,  by 
God  himself,  harmonized  with  this  unlimited  invitation  of 
mercy  :  "  My  house  shall  be  called  a  house  of  prayer  for  all 
people  —  it  shall  proclaim  that  I  am  now  on  my  throne  giving 
audience  to  the  world."  And  with  this  gracious  design  the 
prayers  of  his  worshippers  concurred :  "  Let  the  people  praise 
thee,  O  God,  let  all  the  people  praise  thee ;  and  let  the  whole 
earth  be  filled  with  his  glory."  While  the  spirit  of  its  evan- 
gelical prophecies  looked  forwards  to  the  sublime  spectacle 
of  a  world  in  prayer,  and  sang,  "  O  thou  that  hearest  prayer, 
to  thee  shall  all  flesh  come." 

To  this  high  and  holy  office  of  blessing  the  world  the 
Jewish  church  was  devoted  by  God,  with  all  the  entireness 
of  consecration  belonging  to  their  own  temple  —  "This  peo- 

*  Ezek.  v.  5. 


78  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY* 

pie  have  I  formed  for  myself;  they  shall  show  forth  my  praise." 
They  constituted  his  chosen  representatives  to  an  apostate 
world.  And  how  could  they  represent  his  existence  and 
spirituality,  but  by  maintaining  their  own  existence  entirely 
distinct  from  the  idolatrous  nations  around,  and  exhibiting  a 
character  for  excellence  incomparably  above  them  ?  How 
could  they  exhibit  to  mankind  an  image  of  the  amplitude  of 
the  divine  benevolence,  but  by  becoming  the  priests  and 
intercessors  of  the  revolted  world,  and  by  entreating  that  he 
would  hasten  the  advent  of  Him  in  whom  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth  were  to  be  blessed  1  As  certainly  as  they  failed  to 
answer  their  end,  by  losing  sight  of  the  lofty  relative  intention 
of  their  office,  so  surely,  by  keeping  that  gracious  intention  in 
view,  and  devoting  themselves  to  the  exalted  task  of  answer- 
ing it,  would  they  have  become  the  spiritual  benefactors  of 
the  world. 

The  institution  of  the  Christian  church,  then,  the  union 
of  all  its  parts,  and  the  consecration  of  all  its  powers,  for  the 
spiritual  recovery  of  the  world,  is  no  new  thing  in  the  earth. 
The  Jewish  economy,  in  which  every  act  of  a  nation  was 
prescribed,  from  which  nothing  was  excluded  as  insignificant, 
by  which  every  thing  was  exalted  into  religion,  and  the 
whole  combined  into  a  useful  instrumentality,  was  its  ancient, 
appropriate,  and  luminous  type.  Nor  will  the  Christian 
church  answer  the  sublime  purpose  of  its  institution  in  rela- 
tion to  the  world,  unless  it  recognizes  in  the  entire  consecra- 
tion of  the  Jewish  church  a  type  of  its  own,  and  devotes 
itself  to  the  work  of  blessing  mankind  with  an  entireness, 
spirituality,  and  zeal,  as  much  superior  to  what  was  to  be 
expected  from  the  Jews,  as  the  character  of  its  redemption 
is  superior  to  the  mere  temporal  deliverance  from  Egypt. 
Alas !  that  we  should  be  so  much  more  ready  to  recognize  in 
their  rescue  a  type  of  our  own,  than  to  discern  the  intended 
emblem  of  that  relative  devotedness  which  God  requires,  in 
the  perfect  consecration  of  their  temple,  and  the  studied 
adaptation  of  their  entire  economy  to  instruct  and  benefit 
mankind. 

IV.  But  if  even  the  preliminary  dispensation  thus  clearly 
intimated  what  would  be  the  lofty  and  benevolent  character 
of  the  Christian  church,  may  we  not  much  more  expect  to 
find  that  character  imbodied  in  the  life  of  its  Incarnate 
Founder  1    Accordingly,  the  character  of  Christ  will  be  found 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   SCRIPTURE.  79 

not  merely  to  illustrate  his  new  dispensation,  but  to  form  at 
once  its  type,  its  origin,  and  its  glory.  His  church  is  to  be 
simply  the  expansion  of  his  character.  So  that  were  each  of 
its  members  to  emulate  a  Paul  in  devotedness  and  zeal,  and 
all  of  them  to  be  united  in  a  body  as  entire  as  the  person  of 
Christ  himself,  they  would  be  only  and  inadequately  exempli- 
fying the  character  of  their  Lord.  "  For  their  sakes,"  said 
he,  "I  sanctify  myself"  —  I  devote  myself  entirely  to  the 
work  of  human  redemption.  In  pursuance  of  this  voluntary 
engagement,  he  withdrew  himself,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  from  the  glories  of  heaven,  and  set  himself 
apart  to  the  sorrows  of  earth,  and  to  the  sufferings  of  a 
vicarious  death.  Though  he  saw,  as  from  a  height,  the  whole 
array  of  duty  and  trial  which  awaited  him,  the  only  emotion 
he  evinced  at  the  sight  was,  a  holy  impatience  to  reach  the 
cross  which  stood  at  the  end  of  his  path  —  a  self-consuming 
ardor  to  be  baptized  with  that  baptism  of  blood.  Though  all 
the  fulness  and  fire  of  the  passions  dwelt  in  him,  never  did 
he  waste  a  single  feeling,  but  devoted  the  whole  as  conse- 
crated fuel  for  offering  up  the  great  sacrifice  in  which  his  life 
was  consumed,  and  by  which  the  world  might  be  saved.  And 
why  did  he  this  1  Not  merely  to  impart  a  benevolent  spirit  to 
his  dispensation,  though  this  is  one  of  its  sublime  results. 
But  as  the  reason  of  that  benevolent  spirit  is  to  be  sought 
for  in  his  character,  so  the  reasons  of  his  character  are  to  be 
sought  for  in  a  sphere  higher  than  this  world,  and  in  a  period 
prior  to  the  commencement  of  time.  "  To  the  intent  that 
now  unto  the  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places 
might  be  known,  by  the  church,  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God, 
according  to  the  eternal  purpose  which  he  purposed  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."  *  The  reasons  of  his  mediatorial 
character  are  to  be  found  in  that  eternal  purpose  which  ap- 
pointed him  to  the  office  of  imbodying  before  the  eyes  of  the 
universe  the  glory  of  the  divine  benevolence  in  the  salvation 
of  man.  Charged  with  this  exalted  office,  he  came  forth  and 
stood  before  the  world  as  the  visible  representative  of  the  in- 
visible God.  "  He  that  hath  seen  me,"  said  he,  "  hath  seen 
the  Father  also."  "  Henceforth  ye  know  the  Father,  and 
have  seen  him."  "  I  and  my  Father  are  one."  Possessed 
with  the  infinite  magnitude  of  the  task  he  had  undertaken, 
nothing   could  for  a  moment  divert  his  eye  from  it;  every 

*  Eph.  iii.  10,  11. 


80  CHRISTIAN   INSTRUMENTALITY 

action  and  item  of  his  life  was  referable  to  this,  and  subsidi- 
ary to  it.  As  far  as  consistent  with  the  laws  of  mediation, 
he  was  content  to  conceal  himself,  to  merge  his  own  claims, 
that  he  might  occupy  the  whole  of  our  field  of  vision  with  the 
love  of  God.  He  goes  even  beyond  this :  "  Therefore  doth 
my  Father  love  me,"  saith  he,  "  because  I  lay  down  my  life 
for  the  sheep  ;  "  in  other  words,  "  My  Father  loves  you  with 
a  love  so  unbounded,  that  he  even  loves  me  the  more  for  dying 
to  redeem  you.  He  so  loves  you,  that  whatever  facilitates  the 
expression  of  his  love  receives  an  expression  of  his  divine 
esteem :  by  sustaining  your  liabilities,  by  surrendering  my  life 
as  an  equivalent  for  your  transgressions,  and  thus  vindicating  his 
law  from  all  appearance  of  connivance  at  sin,  I  am  setting  his 
compassion  at  liberty  ;  I  am  removing  a  restraint  from  his 
love  which  threatened  to  hold  it  in  eternal  suspense ;  I  am 
enabling  his  grace  to  act,  to  save  whom  it  will ;  and  for  thus 
concurring  in  his  benevolent  purpose,  and  opening  an  ample 
channel  for  the  tide  of  his  love  to  flow  in,  the  Father  loves 
me ;  I  receive  such  additional  expressions  of  his  complacency, 
that,  though  ineffably  beloved  from  eternity,  he  may  be  said  to 
have  had  added  infinite  delight  to  infinite."  Thus  unre- 
servedly did  the  Savior  lay  himself  out  even  to  the  death,  to 
aggrandize  our  conceptions  of  the  grace  of  God. 

And  how  could  it  be  otherwise  1  Reposing,  as  he  had  from 
eternity,  in  the  bosom  of  that  infinite  love  which  he  had  come 
to  earth  to  represent ;  mingling,  as  he  had,  in  its  all-compre- 
hending counsels;  knowing,  as  he  did,  its  infinite  treasures 
accumulated  from  eternity,  he  knew  that  no  representation, 
within  the  limits  of  possibility  could  adequately  impress  us 
with  its  vastness  —  how,  then,  could  he  be  satisfied  with  doing 
less  than  the  uttermost  which  humanity  sustained  by  divinity 
could  effect,  in  order  to  express  it?  A  love  whose  sacrifices 
might  be  numbered  and  measured,  could  not  adequately  ex- 
press a  "  love  which  passeth  knowledge ; "  therefore  it  was 
that  he  withheld  nothing,  but  "  gave  himself  for  us."  Could 
less  than  the  deep  "  travail  of  his  soul "  have  represented  the 
pulsations  and  throes  of  infinite  compassion  1  Therefore  it 
was,  that,  "  being  in  an  agony,  he  sweat  as  it  were  great  drops 
of  blood  falling  to  the  ground" — that  he  "endured  the 
cross,  despising  the  shame."  True  it  is,  that,  knowing  as  we 
do  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  we  may  well  be  filled 
with  astonishment  at  its  amazing  riches ;  but  equally  true  is 
it,  that,  knowing  as  he  did  the  infinite  extent  of  the  love  of 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   SCRIPTURE.  81 

God  which  he  had  engaged  to  represent,  he  felt  that  nothing 
less  than  such  a  display  of  grace  could  sufficiently  express  it 
—  that  even  when  all  the  infinite  capability  of  his  nature  was 
in  stress,  nothing  that  he  might  say  or  suffer  could  possibly 
exaggerate  our  conceptions  of  the  grace  of  God. 

Now,  be  it  remembered,  that,  having  thus  imbodied  the  love 
of  the  Father,  he  has  devolved  it  on  his  people  to  multiply 
the  copies  of  his  character  in  their  own  lives.  "  As  thou 
hast  made  me  thy  messenger  to  the  world,  I  have  made  them 
my  messengers  to  the  world."  *  They  have  now  to  do  in- 
strumentally  for  Christ  what  he  did  efficaciously  and  really 
for  the  Father ;  to  represent  his  benevolence  to  the  world. 
In  making  them  partakers  of  his  grace,  he  not  only  intends 
their  own  salvation,  he  intends  the  salvation  of  others  by  their 
instrumentality ;  he  intends  that  they  should  go  forth  from  his 
presence  as  messengers,  conveying  to  the  world  the  cheering 
intelligence,  that  he  is  still  sitting  on  his  throne  of  mercy, 
waiting  to  be  gracious ;  and  that  they  should  spare  no  effort 
or  sacrifice,  which  may  be  necessary  in  order  to  proclaim 
the  fact  universally.  He  says  to  them,  in  effect,  You  have 
given  yourselves  to  me,  and  I  give  you  to  the  world  —  give 
you  as  my  representatives.  Look  on  yourselves  as  dedicated 
to  this  office,  as  I,  in  another  and  a  higher  sense,  was  ap- 
pointed to  represent  the  gracious  character  of  God. 

Hence,  partly,  the  mighty  obligations  they  are  under  to 
task  their  utmost  powers  for  the  diffusion  of  his  gospel.  For 
if  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  turn  all  his  infinite  nature 
into  grace  —  that  he  should  dissolve  into  a  fountain  of  healing 
mercy,  for  the  recovery  of  the  world,  in  order  to  do  justice 
to  the  love  of  God,  is  it  less  necessary  that  their  natures 
should  be  turned  into  tenderness  and  love,  in  order  to  furnish 
the  world  with  an  idea  of  his  grace  ?  A  very  small  portion 
of  the  ocean  might  suffice  to  represent  a  river ;  but  will  less 
than  the  Amazon  suffice  to  represent  the  ocean  ?  And  are 
our  powers  so  capacious,  our  natures  so  exalted,  that  less 
than  the  consecration  of  the  whole  should  be  able  to  convey 
an  idea  of  his  grace  1  So  vast  were  his  conceptions  of  the 
love  of  God,  that  he  attempted  not  to  describe  it  —  he  con- 
tented himself  with  saying,  that  "  God  so  loved  us;"  and 
aimed  rather  to  express  its  indescribable  amount  in  godlike 

*  John  xvii.  18.  Dr.  Campbell's  translation,  only  substituting 
"messenger"  for  "apostle." 


4 

82  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

deeds.  And  did  he  fall  so  far  short  of  the  great  reality  — 
was  his  representation  of  it  so  scant  and  meagre  that  we  can 
imitate  it  without  sacrifice  or  effort  ?  It  is  true,  his  example 
can  never  be  equalled,  for  it  imbodies  infinite  goodness ;  but 
with  so  much  the  greater  force  does  it  oblige  us  in  our  hum- 
ble measure  to  attempt  the  imitation.  Having  died  for  the 
good  of  man,  the  least  he  is  entitled  to  expect  is,  that  we 
should  live  for  the  same  benevolent  object.  To  save  the 
world  was  his  vocation,  his  supreme  and  single  object  —  so 
that  never  do  we  so  much  resemble  him  as  when  we  make 
it  our  business  and  calling  to  carry  out  his  gracious  design. 
Yes,  as  far  as  religion  is  practical  and  relative  to  others,  he 
has  made  benevolence  its  life  and  essence ;  not  merely  a  part 
of  the  Christian's  character,  but  the  character  itself. 

V.  The  fact  that  the  followers  of  Christ  are  appointed  to 
be  the  channels  and  representatives  of  his  grace  to  the  world, 
supposes  that  they  are  called,  prepared,  and  aided  by  an 
agency  from  on  high.  Accordingly,  he  promised  them  that 
the  loss  of  his  visible  presence  should  be  amply  compensated 
by  the  advent  of  "  another  Comforter,  who  should  abide  with 
them  forever."  May  we  not  expect,  then,  that  the  Scripture 
theory  of  Christian  instrumentality  will  receive  abundant  con- 
firmation from  the  nature  of  his  dispensation,  and  the  doctrine 
of  his  influence?  Let  us  seek  the  answer  —  where,  alone,  it 
can  be  found  —  in  the  word  of  God. 

What,  for  instance,  is  the  history  of  his  first  impartation  in 
the  Christian  church  1  No  sooner  had  the  Savior  ascended 
his  mediatorial  throne,  than  the  Spirit  came  down,  as  he  had 
promised,  —  came  like  a  rushing,  mighty  wind,  filling  the 
whole  house  where  the  disciples  were  assembled,  filling  each 
heart,  filling  the  whole  church ;  —  came  with  a  copiousness 
and  power,  as  if  his  influences  had  for  ages  been  pent  up  and 
under  restraint,  and  now  rejoiced  in  being  able  to  pour  them- 
selves out  over  the  church  and  the  world. 

And  what  was  the  immediate  effect  of  that  event  ?  Thou- 
sands were  instantly  converted ;  the  sword  of  the  Spirit 
seemed  newly  edged  with  power ;  and,  bathed  in  the  light- 
nings of  heaven,  smote  and  subdued  multitudes  at  once. 

Was  the  sphere  of  his  agency  to  be  limited  to  any  par- 
ticular country  or  province?  His  field  was  the  world.  "  He 
shall  convince  the  world  of  sin."  What  was  the  instrumen- 
tality which  for  this  purpose  he  was  to  employ  1     What,  but 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   SCRIPTURE.  SI 

the  instrumentality  of  those  to  whom  his  power  was  promised, 
and  on  whom  his  influence  rested  ?  By  whose  feet  but  theirs 
was  he  to  carry  the  gospel  "  among  all  nations  "  ?  By  whose 
lips  but  theirs  was  he  to  "  convince  the  world  of  sin"  ?  By 
whose  hands  but  theirs  was  he  to  wield  that  weapon  of  celes- 
tial truth,  which,  because  it  is  the  only  weapon  he  employs,  is 
called  the  very  "  sword  of  the  Spirit "  ? 

Hence  some  of  them  he  specially  selected  and  appointed  to 
particular  spheres  of  labor.  Many  of  them  he  miraculously 
endowed  for  the  office.  All  of  them  found,  that  wherever 
they  went  in  his  name,  he  "  caused  them  to  triumph." 

But  if  the  world  was  to  be  converted  by  their  instrumen- 
tality, would  he  not  require  and  incline  them  all  to  tax  their 
resources  to  the  utmost,  compatible  with  other  incumbent 
claims?  He  did  so.  One  interest  prevailed.  One  subject 
of  emulation  swallowed  up  every  other ;  —  who  should  ap- 
proach nearest  to  the  likeness  of  Christ  —  who  should  do 
most  for  the  enlargement  of  his  reign.  "  The  whole  multi- 
tude of  them  that  believed  were  of  one  heart-  and  of  one 
mind  ;  "  the  spirit  of  Christ  animated  the  whole  community, 
and  every  particular  pulse  beat  in  concert  with  it. 

What,  then,  was  the  effect  of  his  agency  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  the  church  ?  The  gospel  went  flying  abroad 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  New  territories,  for  a  time,  were 
daily  added  to  the  domains  of  the  church.  Her  converts 
were  seen  flocking  to  her  from  all  directions,  like  clouds  of 
doves  to  their  windows;  and,  among  the  wonders  of  that 
period,  one  was  to  see  some  of  her  bitterest  persecutors  be- 
come her  champions  and  her  martyrs. 

And  what  was  the  great  design  of  the  Spirit  in  all  this  ? 
How  remarkable  and  emphatic  the  language  of  Christ  in 
reply  !  "  He  shall  not  speak  of  himself."  "  He  shall  testify 
of  me."  "  He  shall  glorify  me."  As  the  Savior  came  to 
glorify  the  Father  by  the  demonstration  of  his  infinite  love, 
so  the  Spirit  came  to  glorify  Christ  by  exhibiting  and  carry- 
ing that  demonstration  home,  through  the  church,  to  the 
heart  of  the  world.  But  what  must  be  His  estimate  of  the 
work  of  Christ,  that  he  should  thus,  in  a  sense,  be  content  to 
be  silent  concerning  himself,  in  order  that  the  world  might 
resound  with  nothing  but  the  claims  of  Christ ;  conceal  his 
only  splendors,  that  the  eye  of  the  world  might  rest,  undis- 
turbed, on  Christ  alone?  And  who  can  compute  the  enor- 
mous guilt  of  those  by  whose  instrumentality  his  infinite  pro- 


84  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

pensions  to  exhibit  the  glory  of  Christ  might  be  carried  into 
effect,  but  who  give  that  instrumentality  to  other  objects,  and 
thus  unutterably  "  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  "  ? 

Possibly,  however,  the  promise  of  the  Spirit  to  convert  the 
world,  it  may  be  said,  was  not  meant  for  all  time,  but  only, 
or  chiefly,  for  the  first  ages  of  the  church.  So  far  from  this, 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  great  promise  of  the  Chris- 
tian dispensation  :  "  Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive."  The  law  of 
the  dispensation  on  the  subject,  is  this  :  "  Every  one  that  ask- 
eth  receiveth "  —  a  law  which  establishes  the  certain  and 
permanent  connection  between  asking  for  the  influence  of 
the  Spirit  and  obtaining  it.  While  the  sacred  Scriptures, 
public  worship,  a  standing  ministry  —  all  the  means  of  grace 
—  what  are  these  but  the  great  ordinances  of  the  dispensation, 
appointed  as  so  many  channels  to  receive  the  living  waters  of 
prophetic  vision,  and  to  convey  them  into  all  the  world?  And 
the  great  unfulfilled  prophecy  of  the  dispensation  is,  "  I  will 
pour  out  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh."  Till  this  prediction  is 
fulfilled,  and  the  world  convinced  of  sin,  the  promise  of  the 
Spirit  to  accomplish  the  work  may  be  regarded  as  repeated  to 
every  believer,  through  every  hour  of  time. 

Now,  as  the  fitness  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  be  the  agent  of 
Christ  consists  in  his  due  appreciation  of  the  claims  of  Christ, 
and  in  his  perfect  sympathy  with  the  design  of  Christ  to  save 
the  world,  so  the  fitness  of  the  church,  as  the  instrument  of 
the  Spirit,  can  only  consist  in  its  sympathy  with  the  Spirit  in 
converting  the  world  and  glorifying  Christ.  Did  Christ  trav- 
ail in  soul  for  the  redemption  of  the  world  1  Then  the  fitness 
of  the  Spirit  as  his  representative  consists  in  an  infinite  travail 
of  compassion  for  the  application  of  that  redemption ;  and 
never,  till  "  Zion  travails  "  for  the  same  object,  can  she  expect 
to  "  bring  forth."  Did  Christ  devote  the  entire  fulness  of  his 
nature  to  the  salvation  of  man?  Then  the  fitness  of  the 
Spirit  to  be  the  steward  of  all  that  fulness  of  grace,  consists 
in  his  readiness  to  administer  the  whole  to  the  perishing  race ; 
and  never  till  the  church  is  in  readiness,  by  entire  devoted- 
ness,  to  convey  it  into  all  the  world,  is  it  prepared  to  do 'jus- 
tice to  the  office  and  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Did  Christ 
appoint  the  Christian  ministry,  and  the  various  means  of 
grace,  as  the  channels  for  conveying  his  gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture ?  Then  the  suitableness  of  the  Spirit  to  carry  out  this 
intention  must  consist  in  his  readiness  to  replenish  these 
channels  with  heavenly  influences,  till  the  earth  be  filled  with 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   SCRIPTURE.  85 

the  glory  of  the  Lord ;  and  never  till  the  church  has  multi- 
plied these  channels  sufficiently  to  realize  this  grand  con- 
summation, will  it  adequately  sympathize  with  the  office 
of  the  Spirit,  or  satisfy  his  infinite  desire  for  the  glory  of 
Christ. 

Hence  the  importance  of  each  believer  individually,  and 
of  the  church  collectively,  being  "filled  with  the  Spirit."  So 
lofty  is  his  estimate  of  the  claims  of  Christ,  and  so  perfect  his 
sympathy  with  him  in  the  great  object  of  the  world's  recovery, 
that  he  requires  every  member,  agency,  and  influence,  of  the 
entire  church  to  unite  to  the  utmost  in  enforcing  the  one 
and  realizing  the  other.  The  absence  of  a  single  means 
which  might  have  been  employed,  is  not  only  to  rob  the  world 
of  that  promised  influence  of  the  Spirit  which  might  have 
accompanied  its  presence,  —  it  is  to  proclaim  to  the  unthink- 
ing world  that  he  is  not  entirely  devoted  to  the  glory  of  Christ, 
and  thus  to  cast  a  shade  of  grievous  dishonor  on  the  dispen- 
sation of  the  Spirit. 

VI.  But  if  the  theory  of  Christian  influence  contained  in 
the  preceding  chapter  be  scriptural,  we  may  expect  to  find 
not  only  that  it  is  thus  in  harmony  with  other  truths,  and 
deducible  from  independent  doctrines,  but  that  it  stands  out 
on  the  inspired  page  with  all  the  particularity  and  boldness 
of  a  distinct  command,  and  all  the  authority  of  apostolic 
practice.     Nor  are  we  disappointed. 

The  mission  of  Christ  from  the  throne  of  heaven  to  the 
altar  of  the  cross,  contains  in  it  the  spring  and  principle  of 
every  other  mission  from  that  cross  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
By  dignifying  us  with  his  own  love,  and  allying  himself  to 
our  nature,  he  proposes  every  other  human  being  as  a  mag- 
nificent object  of  affection  to  the  whole  species.  By  requir- 
ing us  to  forgive  even  our  enemies,  he  would  have  it  impressed 
on  us  that  we  owe  to  every  man  a  debt  of  affection  which  is 
never  discharged.  By  sending  forth  the  seventy  to  proclaim 
the  kingdom  of  God  through  Judea,  he  taught  that  the  piety 
of  his  people  is  to  be  diffusive,  and  was  training  his  church 
for  that  bolder  flight  which  should  eventually  sweep  the  hori- 
zon of  the  world.  In  order  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of  Chris- 
tian beneficence  to  the  utmost,  he  annihilates  the  ancient 
distinction  between  neighbor  and  enemy ;  teaches  us  to  regard 
every  man  as  our  neighbor  who  needs  our  aid ;  to  look  on 
our  field  as  the  world.  Taking  us  from  that  small  circle 
8 


86  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

which  our  selfishness  prescribes,  he  conducts  us  to  a  mount 
of  vision,  from  which  all  the  territorial  lines  and  artificial 
distinctions  of  society  are  no  longer  visible,  and  where  the 
living  landscape  presents  us  with  the  view  of  one  vast  com- 
munity of  immortal  beings,  claiming  the  same  distinguished 
origin,  involved  in  a  common  danger,  invited  to  one  grand 
deliverance,  and  passing  together  into  the  unseen  state.  By 
teaching  us  there  to  pray,  "  Thy  kingdom  come,  thy  will  be 
done  on  earth,  as  it  is  done  in  heaven,"  he  would  open  before 
us  the  prospect  of  unbounded  progression  and  improvement — 
inspirit  us  to  enter  on  a  career  of  emulation  with  angels  —  to 
despair  of  nothing,  to  hope  for  every  thing  in  the  moral 
advancement  of  the  world,  and  to  call  in  at  every  step  the 
almighty  agency  of  God.  By  simply  commanding  us  to  do 
unto  others  as  we  would  they  should  do  unto  us,  he  lays  a 
principle  of  relative  duty  so  broad  and  deep,  that,  if  rightly 
built  on,  it  would  sustain  a  pyramid  of  benevolent  and  heroic 
deeds  whose  top  should  reach  unto  heaven  ;  and  by  leading 
us  to  the  throne  of  God,  and  teaching  us  to  pray  that  earth 
may  be  assimilated  to  heaven,  he  reminds  us  that  our  means 
of  doing  good  are  never  exhausted,  since  we  are  empowered 
at  every  step  to  touch  and  set  in  motion  the  almighty  agency 
of  God. 

But  if  the  glorious  object  of  this  prayer  is  to  be  realized  — 
if  the  harvest  of  the  world  is  to  be  gathered  into  the  garner 
of  his  church,  where  are  the  reapers  1  "  Pray  ye,  therefore, 
the  Lord  of  the  harvest,"  saith  he,  "  that  he  would  send  forth 
more  laborers  into  his  harvest." 

But  not  only  will  reapers  be  necessary  —  so  vast  is  the 
sphere  of  labor,  that  agencies  of  every  kind  will  find  scope 
for  operation ;  and  as  every  follower  of  Christ  can  do  some- 
thing, not  to  do  it  would  evince  indifference  to  his  claims, 
and  would,  in  moral  effect,  be  ranging  themselves  against 
him.  "He,"  therefore,  saith  Christ,  "that  is  not  with  me 
is  against  me"  —  a  sentence  which  at  once  divides  mankind 
into  two  classes,  denouncing  the  absence  of  activity  in  any 
of  his  professed  followers,  and  ranking  it  with  positive  hos- 
tility against  him. 

For  the  same  reason,  however,  that  every  member  of  his 
church  is  to  be  employed  in  his  service,  it  follows,  of  course, 
that  every  means  of  influence  which  each  possesses  should 
be  employed  also,  and  employed  to  the  utmost.  Accordingly, 
he  not  only  startles   the  indolent,  by  the   inquiry,  "  Why 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM    SCRIPTURE.  87 

stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle?"  and  by  the  command, 
"  Work  while  it  is  day,  for  the  night  cometh  wherein  no  man 
can  work  ;  "  but  our  life  in  his  hands  is  converted  into  a 
lamp,  which,  like  the  virgins  in  the  parable,  we  are  to  keep 
bright  and  burning ;  and  into  a  stewardship,  concerning  every 
item  of  which  we  are  to  render  him  finally  a  faithful  account. 
Our  "  every  word,"  our  "  pound,"  our  various  endowments, 
whatever  they  may  be,  are  so  many  talents  which  he  expects 
us  to  multiply  by  constant  use.  He  will  not  require  the  pos- 
sessor of  two  talents  to  account  for  three,  but  neither  will  he 
permit  him  to  account  for  one  only.  The  very  fact  that  he 
possesses  two,  constitutes  his  call  and  his  obligation  to  employ 
them ;  nor  is  he  at  liberty  to  set  any  limits  to  his  endeavors 
short  of  those  which  his  means  and  opportunities  prescribe. 
And  as  Christian  influence  multiplies  itself  by  use,  he  is  held 
responsible  not  only  for  the  right  employment  of  his  two  tal- 
ents, but  for  the  other  two,  which  that  employment  would 
have  added  to  them.  To  deny  himself  for  Christ  is  his  daily 
obligation ;  but  to  show  him  how  entirely  he  is  the  property 
of  Christ,  he  is  required  to  hold  life  itself  in  subordination  to 
the  Christian  cause,  and  to  surrender  it  to  martyrdom  when- 
ever the  welfare  of  that  cause  may  require.  "  He  that  loseth 
his  life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it." 

Having  made  it  imperative  on  every  individual  disciple  to 
consecrate  his  entire  influence,  from  the  moment  of  his  con- 
version, to  the  diffusion  of  the  gospel,  the  Savior  made  it 
equally  binding  on  them  all  to  unite  for  the  same  object.  By 
calling  them  "  brethren,"  he  would  remind  his  followers  that 
they  form  a  brotherhood.  Of  all  "  the  sheep  which  should 
hear  his  voice,"  he  declared,  "  there  shall  be  one  fold  and 
one  shepherd."  In  the  exercise  of  his  high  prerogative  as 
the  lawgiver  of  his  church,  the  only  new  command  which  he 
issued  to  its  members  was,  "  that  ye  love  one  another."  That 
they  might  have  a  pattern  which  should  move  as  well  as  teach, 
he  proposes  to  them  his  own  example,  by  adding,  "  as  I  have 
loved  you,  that  ye  love  one  another."  To  bind  them  together 
still  more  effectually,  he  made  their  affection  to  each  other 
the  badge  of  their  discipleship  to  him  :  "  By  this  shall  all 
men  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  have  love  one  to 
another."  And  as  if  to  render  the  obligation  irresistible,  he 
lifted  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  and  as  in  the  very  presence  of 
the  cross,  entreated  "  that  they  all  may  be  one ;  "  adding,  as 
the  great  reason  of  the  whole>  "  that  the  world  may  believe 


88  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

that  thou  hast  sent  me."  At  this  practical  and  ultimate 
design  of  their  unity  he  had  glanced  indeed  at  the  commence- 
ment of  his  public  ministry ;  describing  his  people  as  "  the 
salt  of  the  earth,"  and  "  the  light  of  the  world."  For  as,  in 
the  former  capacity,  they  are  to  suspend,  by  their  holy  and 
combined  activity,  the  tendency  of  the  world  to  a  state  of 
general  dissolution,  so,  in  the  latter,  they  are  placed,  to  catch 
the  radiance  of  his  throne,  and  to  transmit  it  to  a  world  im- 
mersed in  the  shadow  of  death.  Not  only  are  they  kindled 
in  their  respective  orbits  to  irradiate  the  gloom  immediately 
around,  but  as  a  church  they  are  to  unite  and  constitute 
"  the  light  of  the  world."  And  thus,  from  his  opening  dis- 
course to  his  closing  prayer,  he  constantly  kept  in  view  the 
combination  of  his  people  for  the  recovery  of  the  world. 

For  the  same  end  he  predicted  and  promised  the  mission 
of  the  Spirit.  So  candidly  and  explicitly  had  he  described 
the  trials  of  their  office,  that  such  a  promise  was  necessary, 
if  only  for  their  encouragement.  Having,  therefore,  taken 
them  to  an  eminence,  and  shown  them  the  vast  confederacy 
of  evil  arrayed  against  them,  he  reminded  them  that  they 
were  to  fight  in  fellowship  with  all  the  children  of  light  — 
that  more  than  angels  would  mingle  in  their  ranks  —  that  the 
Eternal  Spirit  himself,  arming  their  weakness  with  his  might, 
would  advance  with  them  to  the  work,  and  convince  the 
world  of  sin. 

And  when  at  length  "  the  hour  had  come,"  when  the  Son 
of  man,  having  been  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  proceeded  to 
put  into  motion  the  instrumentality  which  he  had  arranged 
for  drawing  all  men  unto  him,  as  if  he  had  been  sitting  on 
the  circle  of  the  heavens,  and  surveying  all  the  possibilities 
and  events  that  could  occur  down  to  the  close  of  time,  he 
answers  the  objections  to  this  design  before  they  are  uttered, 
anticipates  wants  before  they  arise,  and  provides  against 
dangers  before  they  threaten.  Was  it  necessary,  for  instance, 
that  he  should  first  legislate  on  the  subject?  "  Go,"  said  he, 
and  he  was  standing  but  one  step  from  the  throne  of  heaven,  — 
"  Go  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture." Still,  plain  as  this  command  might  at  first  appear,  the 
duty  which  it  enjoins  is  so  novel,  and  the  project  which  it 
contemplates  so  vast,  that  doubts  are  likely  to  arise  as  to  its 
import  and  obligation;  he  repeats  it,  therefore,  again  and 
again,  —  repeats  it  in  other  forms,  as  an  old  prediction  that 
must  be  fulfilled,  and  as  a  new  injunction :  "  Then  opened  he 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   SCRIPTURE.  89 

their  understandings,  that  they  might  understand  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  said  unto  them,  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it 
behoved  Christ  to  suffer  and  to  rise  from  the  dead  the  third 
day,  and  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be 
preached  in  his  name  among  all  nations,  beginning  at  Jeru- 
salem. And  ye  are  witnesses  of  these  things."  If  they  are 
to  enter  on  their  office  at  once,  peculiar  and  even  miraculous 
qualifications  are  necessary.  "  Ye  shall  receive  power  from 
on  high,"  said  he,  "  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon 
you  ;  and  ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me,  both  in  Jerusalem 
and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth."  But  peculiar  dangers  will  assail  them  :  "  All 
power  is  mine,"  said  he.  "  Go,  and  you  shall  move  under  the 
shield  of  Omnipotence."  "  Lo !  I  am  with  you  always,  even 
to  the  end  of  the  world."  Thus,  making  the  most  compre- 
hensive provision,  and  taking  the  whole  responsibility  of  sus- 
cess  on  himself,  his  last  word  to  his  witnesses  was,  "  Go,"  —  his 
last  act  was  to  bless  and  dismiss  them  to  their  work,  —  and 
the  last  impression  he  left  on  their  minds  was,  that  they  held 
in  trust  the  conveyance  of  his  gospel  to  all  mankind. 

And,  as  this  was  the  last  indication  of  his  will  on  earth,  we 
know  how  his  first  act  in  heaven  corresponded  with  it.  The 
Eternal  Spirit  himself  came  down  —  came  expressly  to  testify 
of  Christ  —  came  to  be  the  Great  Missionary  Spirit  of  the 
church,  to  "  convince  the  world  of  sin."  We  know  how  the 
apostles  began  at  Jerusalem,  when  three  thousand  souls 
received  their  testimony.  We  know  how  their  hesitation  to 
quit  Jerusalem  and  Judea  was  gradually  overcome  —  how  a 
Paul  was  added,  like  a  new  missionary  element  infused  into 
their  spirit  —  and  we  can  conceive  how  they  must  have  felt, 
as  if,  in  the  terms  of  his  new  commission  to  be  a  witness  to 
the  Gentries,  their  own  original  commission  had  been  renewed 
and  reenforced.  We  know  how  they  were  divinely  allured 
farther  and  farther  from  Jerusalem  —  how  vision  after  vision 
drew  them  on  to  invade  the  neighboring  territories  of  idolatry 
—  and  how,  at  length,  when  even  a  Paul  evinced  a  reluctance 
to  pass  the  last  limit  of  Jewish  restriction  —  when  even  he 
scrupled  to  leave  the  confines  of  Asia,  a  vision  was  seen  far 
back  in  the  western  regions  of  idolatry  —  a  Macedonian  sup- 
pliant—  the  emblem  of  Europe  —  saying,  "  Come  over  and 
help  us."  Bursting  that  last  enclosure,  the  outermost  circle 
of  restriction,  he  was  not  disobedient  to  the  heavenly  vision  ; 
8* 


90  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

and  the  church  found  itself  fully  committed  to  its  lofty  office 
of  traversing  the  world. 

And  now,  we  might  have  thought,  the  Savior  has  surely 
made  it  sufficiently  apparent  that  his  people  are  to  be  his 
messengers  to  the  world.  Nothing  more  can  be  necessary  to 
show  that  this  great  object  enters  into  the  very  design  and 
principle  of  his  church.  But  not  so  thought  the  Savior  him- 
self. Once  more  does  he  come  forth  and  reiterate  the  truth. 
When  we  might  have  supposed  that  his  voice  would  be  heard 
no  more  —  once  again  does  he  come  forth,  and  break  the 
silence  of  the  church ;  and  the  subject  on  which  he  speaks 
is  the  missionary  character  of  that  church.  Not  that  it  had 
lost  sight  of  its  office.  His  servants  were  carrying  their  tes- 
timony in  all  directions.  But,  as  if  the  angel  having  the  ever- 
lasting gospel  did  not  yet  speed  on  his  way  fast  enough  to 
satisfy  the  yearnings  of  infinite  compassion,  or  as  if  he  feared 
that  angel  would  stop  ere  the  whole  earth,  the  last  creature, 
had  heard  the  gospel  testimony  —  he  came  forth  personally,  and 
announced,  "  The  Spirit  and  the  bride  say,  Come ;  and  let  him 
that  heareth  say,  Come ;  and  let  him  that  is  athirst  come ; 
and  whosoever  will,  let  him  come  and  take  of  the  water  of 
life  freely." 

Here  is  the  summing  up  of  all  his  arrangements  and  com- 
mands for  the  diffusion  of  the  gospel.  Having  opened  the 
fountain  of  eternal  life  in  the  midst  of  the  desert  world  — 
the  Spirit  —  the  church  —  every  member  of  that  church  — 
every  power  of  every  member,  even  if  he  can  only  utter  the 
exclamation,  Come,  are  all  to  be  combined  and  devoted  to 
the  grand  object  of  inviting  the  perishing  world  to  partake. 
Every  one  that  hears  the  call  is  to  transmit  it  farther  still  — 
there  is  no  point  at  which  it  may  stop  —  a  chain  of  living 
voices  is  to  be  carried  round  the  globe  in  every  direction,  till 
the  earth  grows  vocal  with  the  sound  of  the  church*  inviting 
men  to  Christ. 

Thus,  if  the  last  act  of  Christ  on  earth  was  to  make  the 
world  the  heirs  of  his  grace,  his  first  act  in  heaven  proclaimed 
that  he  required  all  the  benevolent  agency  of  his  church  to 
be  put  into  full  activity,  in  order  to  do  justice  to  the  purposes 
of  his  love ;  and  as  this  is  his  last  recorded  command,  the 
postscript  of  the  Bible,  he  would  have  it  impressed  on  the 
mind  of  the  universal  church,  in  every  age,  with  all  the  fresh- 
ness and  force  of  a  parting  injunction. 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   SCRIPTURE.  91 

VII.  If  the  preceding  exposition  of  the  will  of  Christ  con- 
cerning the  missionary  character  of  his  church  be  correct,  we 
may  expect  to  find  a  further  illustration  of  that  will  in  re- 
corded sentiments  and  "  acts  of  the  apostles  "  and  "primitive 
churches." 

Let  us  look  at  the  great  missionary  of  the  Christian  church 
—  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  It  is  admitted,  indeed,  that  he 
had  been  specially  designated  to  the  office ;  but,  by  this  cir- 
cumstance, he  is  so  far  from  ceasing  to  be  an  example,  that 
the  head  of  the  church  may  be  regarded  as  saying,  "  For  this 
purpose,  partly,  have  I  called  and  employed  him,  and  placed 
his  history  on  record,  that  my  people  may  possess  in  him  a 
model  of  the  missionary  character  for  all  succeeding  times." 
It  is  admitted,  also,  that  Christians  generally,  and  even  Chris- 
tian ministers,  are  not  called  to  the  literal  imitation  of  his 
missionary  career.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  meant  that  they 
should  more  than  admire  it  —  that  they  should  imbibe  and 
imitate  its  entire  spirit.  The  same  principle  of  loyalty  to 
Christ  and  love  to  man  they  must  possess  :  and  from  that 
same  principle  must  they  rise  superior  to  selfish  indulgence, 
and  be  able  to  appeal  to  their  self-sacrificing  piety  that  for 
them  "  to  live  is  Christ." 

The  apostle  could  do  this ;  and  it  was  the  sole  secret  of 
his  heroic  devotedness  and  missionary  enterprise.  In  the 
ear  of  the  selfish  and  the  worldly,  the  language  doubtless 
sounds  extravagant  and  absurd.  In  the  ear  of  God,  and 
indeed  of  every  enlightened  being,  it  is  only  the  language 
of  sobriety  and  wisdom.  It  was  dictated  by  no  mere  mo- 
mentary impulse  of  zeal,  but  was  the  result  of  a  sober 
calculation  frequently  repeated,  and  of  enlightened  principle 
gradually  matured.  There  was  a  time  when,  in  common 
with  the  world,  he  regarded  life  as  superlatively  valuable; 
but  he  now  looked  on  it  as  comparatively  insignificant,  for 
he  had  found  an  object  of  unspeakably  greater  importance. 
Others  might  copy  the  example  of  their  fellow-men,  but  he 
had  risen  to  the  high  and  holy  ambition  of  copying  the  ex- 
ample of  incarnate  perfection,  of  God  manifest  in  the  flesh. 
Others  might  waste  their  precious  time  in  ease,  and  sloth, 
and  worldly  indulgence;  but  he  aspired  to  enter  into  the 
counsels  of  Heaven,  to  become  a  co-worker  together  with 
God,  and  instrumentally  to  mingle  in  the  operations  of 
almighty  love  in  renewing  and  blessing  a  world  of  apostate 
but  immortal  beings.     Others  might  content  themselves  with 


92  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

the  praise  of  men,  with  the  good  opinion  of  creatures  per- 
ishing like  themselves ;  but  he  aspired  to  the  high  distinction 
of  pleasing  God — of  being  received  and  welcomed  into 
the  presence  of  the  Supreme,  with  the  sentence,  "  Well 
done,  good  and  faithful  servant."  Others  might  be  satisfied 
with  their  own  personal  salvation  —  but  feeling  that  he  had 
a  Savior  for  the  world,  he  panted  to  go  every  where,  claim- 
ing that  world  for  Christ  —  panted  to  "present  every  man 
perfect  in  Christ  Jesus" — "travailed  in  birth"  for  the 
regeneration  of  the  human  race. 

Hence  the  secret  of  his  self-denial  —  "I  am  made  all  things 
to  all  men,  if  by  any  means  I  might  save  some."  Hence, 
too,  the  spring  of  his  Christian  zeal  —  "If  by  any  means  I 
may  provoke  to  emulation  them  who  are  my  flesh,  and  might 
save  some  of  them."  This  was  the  reason  of  his  prudence 
and  vigilance — "I  please  all  men  in  all  things,  not  seeking 
mine  own  profit,  but  the  profit  of  many,  that  they  may  be 
saved."  And  hence,  too,  his  joy  in  suffering  — "  It  is  for 
your  consolation  and  salvation."  This  was  the  object  at 
which  he  aimed,  and  which  filled  the  whole  sphere  of  his 
vision  ;  comparatively  speaking,  he  saw  nothing  else.  Ease 
might  offer  him  indulgence;  Wealth  might  display  her 
bribes ;  Pleasure  might  exhibit  her  charms ;  but  these  had 
lost  their  power  to  tempt ;  to  him  they  had  become  objects 
of  supreme  indifference.  Persecution  might  bring  out  and 
spread  in  his  path  a  fearful  array  of  scourges,  and  chains, 
and  axes  —  all  the  instruments  and  apparatus  of  torture  and 
death.  But  he  looked  at  the  cross,  and,  beholding  the  Son 
of  God  suspended  there,  he  armed  himself  "  likewise  with 
the  same  mind."  He  looked  around ;  and  he  saw  the 
assembled  church  of  Christ  urging  him,  for  the  glory  of  the 
cross,  for  the  sake  of  perishing  humanity,  to  go  forwards. 
He  listened,  and  heard  the  whole  creation  groaning  to  be 
delivered.  He  looked  above ;  and  he  saw  "  a  great  cloud  of 
witnesses "  bending  with  intense  interest  from  their  blessed 
seats ;  and  beyond  and  above  them  all,  he  saw  the  throne  of 
the  Lamb  and  him  that  sat  on  it  —  and  in  his  hand  a  glorious 
crown  of  life —  and  he  saw  that  it  was  extended  towards 
him;  and  thus  sustained,  he  could  point  to  all  the  instru- 
ments of  torture,  and  exclaim,  "  None  of  these  things  move 
me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  might 
finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry  which  I  have 
received  of  the   Lord  Jesus  to  testify  of  the  gospel  of  the 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   SCRIPTURE.  93 

grace  of  God."  And  thus  impelled,  again  and  again  he  led 
the  van  of  the  army  of  the  cross,  stormed  the  very  strong- 
holds of  idolatry  and  sin,  proclaimed  the  name  of  his  sov- 
ereign Lord  "  where  Satan's  seat "  was,  planted  the  standard 
of  the  cross  in  the  very  citadel  of  the  foe,  till  his  progress 
from  place  to  place  was  to  be  traced,  not  indeed  by  blood  — 
or  if  so,  by  no  blood  but  his  own  —  for  he  was  covered  with 
the  scars  of  the  Christian  conflict  —  but  with  the  fall  of  idol 
temples,  the  plantation  of  Christian  churches,  the  trophies 
of  ransomed  human  souls,  and  with  the  song  of  the  Christian 
warrior,  exulting,  "  Now  thanks  be  unto  God,  who  always 
causeth  us  to  triumph  in  every  place."  And  yet,  in  all  this 
heroic  devotedness  and  self-consuming  zeal,  was  he  exceed- 
ing his  obligations  —  doing  any  thing  more  than  carrying 
out  principles  to  their  legitimate  application  —  living  to 
Christ?  Did  he  ever  utter  a  word  which  implied  that  he 
considered  himself  an  exception  to  what  others  should  bel 
that  no  one  was  bound  to  be  so  zealous  for  Christ  as  he  was 
—  that  a  lower  standard  of  benevolence  was  sufficient  for 
them  1  On  the  contrary,  how  humbly  did  he  account  him- 
self less  than  the  least  of  all  saints,  how  uniformly  did  he 
speak  of  himself  only  as  one  of  a  number  constrained  and 
borne  onwards  by  the  love  of  Christ,  and  how  earnestly  did 
he  say  to  all,  "  Be  ye  followers  of  me,  even  as  I  also  am  of 
Christ." 

VIII.  Now,  if  such  be  an  exemplification  of  what,  in 
spirit  and  principle  at  least,  each  individual  convert  should 
be,  let  us  next  glance  at  the  illustration  of  that  missionary 
spirit  and  principle  as  exhibited  in  the  conduct  of  a  primitive 
church.  The  church  at  Jerusalem  was  denominational,  con- 
sisting exclusively  of  converted  Jews.  The  church  at  An- 
tioch,  including  as  it  did  all  believers,  irrespective  of  their 
nation,  was  the  first  Catholic  Christian  church — "Now 
there  were  in  the  church  that  was  at  Antioch  certain 
prophets  and  teachers;  as  Barnabas,  and  Simeon  that  was 
called  Niger,  and  Lucius  of  Cyrene,  and  Manaen,  who  had 
been  brought  up  with  Herod  the  tetrarch,  and  Saul.  As  they 
ministered  to  the  Lord,  and  fasted,  the  Holy  Ghost  said, 
Separate  me  Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the  work  whereunto  I 
have  called  them."*     Deeply  impressed  with  their  individual 

*  Acts  xiii.  1,  2. 


94  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

responsibility,  different  members  of  the  Antiochian  church 
had  already  made  certain  unconnected  efforts  for  the  diffu- 
sion of  the  gospel.  Grateful  in  the  last  degree  for  their 
own  salvation,  and  encouraged  by  the  conversion  of  the 
Roman  Cornelius,  they  could  not  but  speak  of  the  things 
which  they  had  seen  and  heard  — "  And  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  was  with  them,  and  a  great  number  believed  and  turned 
to  the  Lord."  * 

But  the  time  had  now  arrived  when  they  were  to  attempt 
a  united  and  systematic  effort  for  the  same  object.  It  was 
not  likely  that  such  piety,  wisdom,  and  zeal,  could  long  com- 
mune together  without  making  a  combined  movement.  One, 
we  may  suppose,  would  insist  on  the  evident  design  of  a 
Christian  church  to  extend  the  gospel ;  another,  on  the  au- 
thoritative will  of  Christ ;  a  third,  on  the  depraved  condition 
of  the  heathen;  and  a  fourth,  on  the  instances  in  which  they 
themselves  had  seen  the  gospel  prove  "  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation ; "  while  all  would  acknowledge  the  impor- 
tance of  a  more  direct,  vigorous,  and  sustained  effort  than 
had  yet  been  made  for  enlarging  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 
"  But  who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?"  Agents  must  be 
selected  —  a  sphere  of  labor  appointed  them  —  and  their 
hands  sustained  by  the  prayers,  and,  if  need  be,  by  the  con- 
tributions, of  the  disciples  remaining  at  home  —  for  this  is  to 
be  a  mission  of  the  church.  Conscious  of  their  own  incom- 
petence, and  anxious  to  take  no  step  which  God  has  not 
encouraged,  they  wait  together  before  him  by  prayer  and 
fasting. 

"  And  as  they  ministered  to  the  Lord,  and  fasted,  the 
Holy  Ghost  said,  Separate  unto  me  Barnabas  and  Saul  for 
the  work  whereunto  I  have  called  them."  Here  we  see 
the  church  whose  members  had  been  the  most  zealous, 
individually ,  for  the  extension  of  the  faith,  honored  to  be 
the  first  missionary  society  for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen. 
While  from  the  divine  designation  of  the  two  most  distin- 
guished members  and  ministers  of  that  church  to  be  the  first 
missionaries,  we  learn,  that  Christians  will  never  evince  that 
they  estimate  the  missionary  office  as  God  does,  till  they 
select  for  it  the  choicest  instrumentality  which  the  churches 
contain. 

"  And  when  they  had  fasted  and  prayed,  and  laid  their 

*  Acts  xi.  21. 


ILLUSTRATED    FROM   SCRIPTURE.  95 

hands  on  them,  they  sent  them  away."  Directed,  probably, 
to  their  particular  scene  of  labor,  by  the  same  divine  author- 
ity which  had  nominated  them  to  the  work,  Barnabas  and 
Paul  proceeded  to  Seleucia,  the  nearest  port,  and  sailed  at 
once  to  the  isle  of  Cyprus.  Paul  had  already  gratified  the 
instinctive  longing  of  the  young  convert,  to  benefit  those  first 
to  whom  he  is  most  nearly  related,  by  preaching  the  gospel 
in  his  native  Cilicia.  And  now  Barnabas  enjoys  the  same 
sacred  gratification,  by  preaching  salvation  in  his  native 
Cyprus.  Thus  it  is  that  the  gospel  recognizes  all  the  nat- 
ural and  social  relations  of  life,  and  teaches  us  that  in  seek- 
ing to  evangelize  a  distant  region,  we  are  not  to  overlook 
the  prior  claims  of  our  family,  neighborhood,  and  native 
land. 

Crossing  to  Peninsular  Asia,  Paul  and  Barnabas  prose- 
cuted their  mission  by  traversing  Pamphylia,  Pisidia,  and 
Lycaonia,  till  they  touched  on  the  borders  of  Cilicia,  where 
Paul  had  already  published  the  gospel.  In  this  way,  the 
whole  of  the  intermediate  country  between  their  two  native 
places,  resounded  with  the  preaching  of  Christ  crucified.  In 
establishing  this  chain  of  Christian  posts  from  point  to  point, 
they  proposed  to  make  it  the  base  of  a  future  mission  into 
the  region  beyond.  And  here  we  find  the  apostle,  on  a  sub- 
sequent occasion,  enlarging  the  sphere  of  his  labor  by  preach- 
ing in  the  remoter  regions  of  Phrygia,  Galatia,  and  Mysia. 
An  apt  illustration,  this,  of  the  expansive  power  of  the  gos- 
pel ;  of  the  manner  in  which  it  enlarges  the  circle  of  its 
beneficent  operation  ;  and  in  which  the  Christian  church 
should  ever  be  meditating  further  conquests  for  Christ,  and 
preparing  for  the  final  occupation  of  the  entire  globe. 

Having  touched  the  boundary  of  Cilicia,  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas retraced  their  steps,  revisited  the  churches  which  they 
had  planted,  and  then  "  returned  to  Antioch,  from  whence 
they  had  been  recommended  to  the  grace  of  God  for  the 
work  which  they  fulfilled.  And  when  they  were  come,  and 
had  gathered  the  church  together,  they  rehearsed  all  that 
God  had  done  with  them,  and  how  he  had  opened  the  door 
of  faith  unto  the  Gentiles."  *  Regarding  themselves  as  the 
representatives  of  the  church  which  had  sent  them  forth,  and 
still  retaining  their  communion  with  it,  they  take  it  for 
granted  that  all  its  members  will  feel  the  liveliest  interest  in 

*  Acts  xiv.  26,  27. 


96  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTAL1T\ 

the  results  of  their  mission.  In  the  same  way  should  every 
thing  connected  with  the  progress  of  the  gospel  in  heathen 
lands  now  thrill  through  the  heart  of  the  church  at  home, 
and  be  regarded  as  a  subject  of  deep  personal  interest  by 
each  of  its  members. 

The  church  at  Antioch  was  now  surrounded,  as  far  as  its 
position  would  permit,  with  the  wide  field  of  its  missionary 
operations.  In  whatever  direction  it  might  look,  it  had  the 
hallowed  satisfaction  of  beholding  the  fruits  of  its  labor  stretch 
away  to  a  remote  circumference  —  an  image  of  the  manner 
in  which  every  particular  church,  and  in  which  the  whole 
collective  church  of  Christ,  should  sit  in  the  centre  of  a 
widely-extended  missionary  domain,  filled  to  the  verge  with 
the  influence  of  the  cross,  and  thus  prepared  to  enlarge  and 
extend  its  circle  till  it  embraces  the  world. 

For  what  is  there  in  all  this  piety  and  zeal  which  is  not 
equally  obligatory  on  the  churches  of  the  present  day  ?  What 
had  the  Lord  of  the  church  done  for  the  Christians  at  An- 
tioch, which  he  has  not  equalled,  and,  in  some  providential 
respects,  even  exceeded,  for  us  ?  "  Compassion  moved  them; " 
but  is  heathenism  less  depraving,  or  sin  less  destructive,  or 
hell  less  fearful,  now,  than  then  ?  "  Zeal  for  the  glory  of 
Christ  incited  them ;  "  but  are  we  less  indebted  to  redeeming 
love  than  they  ?  We  do  not  hope  for  less  than  eternal  life,  and 
did  they  expect  more  1  "  The  Spirit  of  God  impelled  and 
directed  them ;  "  but  it  was  in  answer  to  earnest,  united,  and 
persevering  prayer  —  and  is  the  throne  of  grace  less  accessi- 
ble to  us  than  it  was  to  them  ?  or  the  promise  which  encour- 
aged them  to  repair  to  it  repealed?  —  "Ask,  and  ye  shall 
receive."  And  is  not  the  same  Spirit  saying  to  every  church, 
by  the  voice  of  Scripture,  and  the  movements  of  Providence, 
as  distinctly  as  to  the  church  at  Antioch,  "  Separate  unto 
me  your  Paul  and  your  Barnabas.  Select  your  holiest, 
ablest  men ;  cultivate  their  mind  and  piety  to  the  utmost ; 
and  set  them  apart  to  the  missionary  office"  ?  "A  Paul  and 
a  Barnabas  were  among  them,  and  if  we  could  command  such 
agents  —  if  we  could  select  even  an  Eliot  or  a  Swartz  —  we 
would  strain  every  effort  to  send  them  forth ;  but  there  are 
few,  or  none,  such  among  us."  Yes,  there  are;  or,  if  not, 
there  might  be.  "  Who,  then,  is  Paul,  and  who  is  Apollos, 
but  ministers  by  whom  ye  believed,  even  as  the  Lord  gave  to 
every  man?"  By  the  grace  of  God  they  were  what  they 
were ;  and,  by  the  same  grace,  their  distinguished  excellences 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   SCRIPTURE 


97 


can  be  reproduced  and  repeated  in  every  church.  Only  let 
not  Christians  expect  their  agents  to  be  apostles,  in  order 
that  they  themselves  may  sit  at  home  in  indolence  —  only  let 
them  expect  that  their  agents  will  be  their  representatives, 
and  nothing  more  —  only  let  them  look  for  a  Barnabas  in  a 
church  worthy  of  a  Barnabas,  and  look  for  him  by  earnest 
and  united  prayer  to  God,  —  and  they  will  find  the  Spirit  of 
God  raising  up  an  agency  as  suitable  for  the  present  day  as 
that  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  for  apostolic  days. 

IX.  If  we  now  proceed  to  examine  the  inspired  epistles 
to  the  churches,  we  shall  find  that,  as  the  missionary  character 
of  the  Apostle  Paul  is  only  an  exemplification  of  what,  in 
spirit  and  principle,  every  other  Christian  should  be,  so  the 
missionary  conduct  of  the  church  at  Antioch  is  only  a  model 
for  all  other  Christian  churches. 

The  churches  at  Ephesus  and  Colosse  are  exhorted  to  be 
fervent,  incessant,  and  united,  in  prayer  for  the  wide  and 
successful  propagation  of  the  gospel.  For  well  the  apostle 
knew  that  the  zeal  for  Christ,  which  led  them  to  become 
suppliants  for  that  object  at  the  throne  of  grace,  would  lead 
them,  while  there,  to  inquire,  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  us 
to  do?"  —  that,  so  far  from  there  expiring,  it  would  there 
rather  be  fanned  and  fed,  and  rise  into  a  flame,  into  which 
property,  influence,  life  itself,  if  necessary,  would  be  offered 
up  as  an  oblation  to  his  glory. 

The  Philippian  Christians  were  to  shine  as  lights,  exalted 
to  irradiate  the  surrounding  gloom,  "  holding  out  the  word 
of  life." 

To  the  Christians  at  Galatia,  the  apostolic  injunction  is, 
"  As  ye  have  opportunity,  do  good  unto  all  men ;  "  language 
which  laid  under  tribute  every  moment  of  their  time,  and 
every  energy  of  their  renewed  nature,  for  the  good  of  the 
world. 

In  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  the  calling  and  conversion 
of  the  heathen  world  is  a  subject  of  constant  recurrence. 
"  But  how  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom  they  have  not 
believed  ?  and  how  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom  they 
have  not  heard?  and  how  shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher? 
and  how  shall  they  preach  except  they  be  sent  ?  "  *  Leaving 
it  to  be  inferred,  that  if  the  proclamation  of  the  gospel  be 

*  Rom.  x.  13,  14. 


I 


98  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

necessary  to  the  salvation  of  the  world,  the  greater  the  num- 
ber of  heralds  employed,  the  greater  the  number  of  conver- 
sions which,  by  the  agency  of  the  Spirit,  would  ensue ;  and 
consequently,  the  greater  the  obligation  of  every  Christian 
community  to  pray  the  Lord  of  the  church  to  raise  up  and 
send  forth  from  among  them  the  greatest  number  of  mission- 
aries which  their  resources  can  supply. 

The  members  of  the  church  at  Thessalonica  "  became 
ensamples  to  all  that  believe  in  Macedonia  and  Achaia ;  for 
from  them  sounded  out  the  word  of  the  Lord."  *  Not  only 
was  the  report  of  their  conversion  circulated  by  others 
through  all  the  neighboring  districts,  but  they  themselves 
followed  that  report  with  as  loud  a  call  to  those  regions  as 
they  could  raise,  to  "  turn  to  God  from  dumb  idols,  to  serve 
the  living  and  true  God." 

While  to  the  church  at  Corinth  the  apostle  writes,  "  We 
are  come  as  far  as  to  you  also  in  preaching  the  gospel 
of  Christ,  *  *  *  having  hope,  when  your  faith  is  in- 
creased, that  we  shall  be  enlarged  by  you  *  *  *  abun- 
dantly, to  preach  the  gospel  in  the  regions  beyond  you."  t 
Already  had  he  hastened  from  province  to  province,  "  weep- 
ing over  the  wreck  of  immortal  souls,"  and  leaving  behind 
him,  wherever  he  had  been,  monuments  of  the  power  of  the 
gospel  to  save.  But,  much  as  he  rejoiced  in  this,  the  vast 
circuit  which  he  had  already  filled  with  the  sound  of  salva- 
tion could  not  limit  his  desires  or  his  labors.  There  were 
"regions  beyond;"  regions  which  were  still  immersed  in 
the  shadow  of  death ;  and  the  weight  of  their  misery  rested 
on  his  soul.  If  he  reposed  a  moment,  therefore,  it  was  only 
to  gather  strength  for  his  onward  course.  If  he  remained  a 
short  time  with  a  church  already  formed,  it  was  only  that 
their  flame  might  supply  him  with  the  means  of  kindling 
another  light  in  the  distance.  If  he  rejoiced  in  his  success 
at  Corinth,  it  was  chiefly  as  it  enabled  him  abundantly  to 
enlarge  the  sphere  of  his  labors  in  "  the  regions  beyond." 
He  takes  it  for  granted  that  the  members  of  a  church  have 
"  a  claim  to  the  exclusive  enjoyment  of  the  Christian  min- 
istry only  until  they  have  reached  a  certain  maturity  in  reli- 
gious" attainments;  but  that,  from  that  moment,  they  are 


*  1  Thess.  i.  7,  8. 

t  2  Cor.  x.  14 — 16.     See  an  excellent  discourse  on  this  text  in  the 
Works  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Watson,  vol.  iii. 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   SCRIPTURE.  99 

equally  bound  with  himself  to  extend  the  knowledge  of  Christ 
into  "  the  regions  beyond."  All  their  resources  are  to  be 
taxed  for  the  enlargement  of  his  kingdom.  Circle  beyond 
circle  of  benevolent  effort  is  to  be  described  by  the  Christian 
church,  till  the  earth  is  encompassed  in  the  vast  embrace  of 
mercy. 

And  has  the  missionary  enterprise  diminished,  by  the 
lapse  of  time,  either  in  its  obligation  on  the  church,  or  in  its 
magnificence  ?  St.  Paul  is  still  exhorting,  "  that  supplica- 
tions, prayers,  and  intercessions  be  made  for  all  men  ; "  and 
declaring,  that  "  this  is  good  and  acceptable  in  the  sight  of 
God  our  Savior,  who  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth."  *  St.  James  is  still 
announcing  to  the  church,  "  Let  him  know,  that  he  who  con- 
verteth  the  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way,"  — let  him  pon- 
der the  mighty  truth  —  let  him  publish  it  through  the  church 
as  a  proclamation  from  the  throne  of  God  to  inflame  the  zeal 
of  others  —  "  Let  him  know,  that  he  shall  save  a  soul  from 
death."  f  What  an  inducement  to  the  united  church  to 
attempt  the  stupendous  object  of  saving  a  world  from  death ! 
The  apostle  Peter  is  still  affirming  that  the  existence  of  the 
world  continues,  because  God  is  "  long-suffering  to  us-ward, 
not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all  should  come 
to  repentance."  |  And  St.  John  is  testifying  that  "  the 
Father  sent  the  Son  to  be  the  Savior  of  the  world ; "  §  and 
leaving  us  to  draw  the  startling  inference,  that  if  "  he  who 
seeth  his  brother  have  need,  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels  of 
compassion  from  him,  is  a  murderer,"  the  Christian  church 
can  wash  its  hands  from  the  crimson  guilt  of  murdering  the 
souls  of  the  heathen  only  by  making  the  mightiest  effort  of 
which  it  is  capable  for  their  salvation. 

X.  But  if  it  be  true  that  this  theory  was  prefigured  by 
former  dispensations ;  that  it  was  substantially  realized  in  the 
person  of  Christ ;  that  it  is  called  for  by  the  office  and  agency 
of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  that  our  Lord  prescribed  it ;  and  that  his 
primitive  churches  either  practically  exemplified  it,  or  were 
authoritatively  exhorted  to  do  so,  might  we  not  venture  to  sug- 
gest that  most  probably  a  scheme  so  wide  in  its  sweep  is  even 
more  comprehensive  still  1     Knowing,  as  we  do,  that  God  acts 

*  ITira.  ii.  1,3,4.  t  2  Pet.  iii.  9. 

t  James  v.  20.  §  1  John  iv.  14. 


100  CHRISTIAN   INSTRUMENTALITY 

by  general  laws  —  laws  which  include  in  their  range  worlds 
as  well  as  atoms,  and  systems  as  well  as  worlds  —  may  we 
not  suggest  that  a  principle  which  unites  and  lays  under 
tribute  all  the  sanctified  influences  of  earth,  adds  to  them 
also  the  influences  of  heaven  ?  Revelation  decides  that  this 
is  the  fact ;  that  as  there  is  but  one  object  in  the  universe  at 
which  to  aim,  so  there  is  but  one  plan  on  which  it  is  pursued, 
and  one  being  by  whom  it  is  conducted,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
From  the  moment  —  if  we  may  be  allowed  to  employ  the 
language  of  time  in  speaking  of  things  which  acknowledge  no 
date  —  from  the  moment  when  the  Eternal  Father  determined 
to  create,  and  to  exhibit  his  glory  and  impart  his  fulness  to 
his  intelligent  creation,  a  scheme  of  mediation  became  indis- 
pensable. The  Son  of  God,  as  the  only  adequate  representa- 
tive of  his  person,  and  medium  of  his  fulness,  became  indis- 
pensable to  that  mediatorial  scheme.  And  from  the  moment 
he  began  to  fulfil  its  conditions,  and  realize  its  designs,  he 
became,  by  right  and  by  appointment,  the  centre  of  the 
whole.  "  For  by  him  were  all  things  created,  that  are  in 
heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible  and  invisible,  whether 
they  be  thrones,  or  dominions,  or  principalities,  or  powers : 
all  things  were  created  by  him,  and  for  him :  and  he  is  before 
all  things,  and  by  him  all  things  consist.  And  he  is  the  head 
of  the  body,  the  church ;  who  is  the  beginning,  the  first-born 
from  the  dead ;  that  in  all  things  he  might  have  the  preemi- 
nence. For  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in  him  should  all  ful- 
ness dwell :  and  having  made  peace  through  the  blood  of  his 
cross,  by  him  to  reconcile  all  things  unto  himself;  by  him,  I 
say,  whether  they  be  things  in  earth  or  things  in  heaven." 
And  from  that  moment  he  acquired  the  right  and  the  power 
to  lay  all  the  agencies  and  influences  of  this  vast  system 
of  existences,  economies,  and  constitutions,  as  it  revolved 
around  him,  under  tribute,  in  order  to  maintain  the  union, 
dependency,  and  order  of  all  its  parts  to  each  other,  and 
of  the  whole  to  himself.  To  withhold  this  tribute  in  the 
least  degree  is  to  derange  the  entire  plan.  Should  such 
derangement  occur  even  in  the  remotest  part  of  the  system, 
every  other  part  and  being  belonging  to  it  would  sympathize 
with  the  shock,  and  feel  himself  personally  aggrieved. 
Should  it  be  announced,  as  the  supreme  will,  that  the  offend- 
ing party  be  reclaimed  and  saved,  every  order  of  being,  every 
rank,  each  individual,  would  feel  himself  bound  to  task  his 
energies  to  the  utmost,  as  far  as  they  could  be  made  available, 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   SCRIPTURE.  101 

and  to  combine  them  with  all  the  rest,  in  a  grand  endeavor  to 
reclaim  and  restore  the  offender  to  the  place  and  the  happi- 
ness which  he  had  lost.  Even  if  some  of  those  orders,  owing 
to  the  difference  of  their  nature,  should  not  be  able  to  minis- 
ter directly  to  his  recovery,  they  would  take  the  liveliest  in- 
terest in  every  stage  of  the  process,  and  never  rest  till  it  was 
brought  to  a  happy  conclusion ;  while  every  being  of  his  own 
order  would  feel  himself  bound,  by  the  particular  obligation 
of  kindred,  as  well  as  by  the  general  obligation  of  loyalty  to 
Christ,  to  unite  in  an  untiring  endeavor  for  his  recovery. 

Now,  who  does  not  recognize  in  this  representation  a  sketch 
of  what  has  actually  taken  place  1  Not  an  individual  merely, 
but  an  entire  race,  has  broken  the  law  which  bound  it  up  with 
all  the  orders  in  the  mediatorial  government  of  Christ.  The 
integrity  of  the  universe,  as  a  union  of  different  intelligent 
orders  under  one  head,  is  destroyed.  But  by  virtue  of  an 
eternal  purpose,  that  integrity  is  to  be  restored ;  they  are 
again  to  be  "gathered  together  in  one."  The  disclosure  of 
this  sublime  "  purpose  which  God  had  purposed  in  himself," 
stirred  the  entire  universe  of  holy  beings ;  and  for  its  execu- 
tion every  agency  it  contains  is  not  only  put  into  motion,  but 
into  actual  requisition.  The  whole,  animated  and  united  by 
this  one  design,  move  towards  the  scene  of  revolt.  The  Me- 
diator himself  descends  into  the  midst,  carrying  with  him  the 
intensest  sympathies,  if  not  also  the  actual  presence,  of  all 
the  beings  who  retain  their  first  estate.  For  one  of  them  to 
have  withheld  his  sympathy,  or  to  have  evinced  that  less  than 
his  entire  nature  was  interested,  and  held  ready  for  the  occa- 
sion, would  have  been  to  inflict  the  shock  of  a  new  revolt,  if 
not  even  to  create  a  pause  in  the  onward  movement  of  mercy. 
But  "  he  was  seen  of  angels."  In  the  whole  of  his  progress 
from  the  throne  to  the  cross,  they  may  be  said  to  have  formed 
one  unbroken  and  undeviating  procession.  He  advanced  to 
Calvary  with  all  the  lovers  of  mercy,  the  friends  of  man,  the 
servants  of  God,  in  his  train.  In  the  sacrifice  which  he  there 
presented,  they  beheld  the  means  of  mediation  made  visible 
to  the  universe,  and  complete  for  eternity.  There  they  saw 
the  doctrine,  of  which  they  had  ever  been  enjoying  the 
advantage,  and  the  fact,  or  means,  of  which  it  had  never 
entered  into  their  minds  to  conceive,  meet  and  become  one. 
In  its  aspect  toward  God,  as  a  fact,  they  saw  mercy  answer- 
ing the  claims  of  justice  with  an  infinite  compensation ;  and 
in  its  aspect  towards  man,  as  a  doctrine,  they  saw  both  unite 
9* 


102  CHRISTIAN   INSTRUMENTALITY 

in  appealing  to  the  heart  of  the  world,  and  establishing  an 
infinite  claim  on  its  grateful  and  instant  return. 

They  themselves,  indeed,  are  personally  benefited  in  a 
great  variety  of  ways  by  the  advent  and  death  of  Christ. 
"  To  the  principalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places  are 
made  known  by  [means  of]  the  church  the  manifold  wisdom 
of  God."  But  on  account  of  its  remedial  aspect  on  man  it 
is  that  they  chiefly  prize  it.  They  know  that  the  race  among 
whom  the  altar  of  atonement  is  erected,  is  the  race  whom  it 
chiefly  concerns ;  and  their  perfect  sympathy  with  its  gracious 
intention  makes  them  conscious  of  a  holy  impatience  to  see 
that  intention  fully  realized.  Reasons,  indeed,  sufficient  to 
prevent  their  repining,  forbid  them  from  presenting  them- 
selves visibly  in  the  church,  or  carrying  the  gospel  audibly  to 
the  world  ;  but  not  the  less  ardently  do  they  burn  to  see  this 
done  by  those  on  whom  it  devolves.  Does  not  the  first  tear 
of  the  penitent  create  a  sensation  of  joy  through  all  their 
adoring  ranks  ?  As  if  to  show  the  identity  of  their  interests 
and  ours,  was  not  an  angel  employed  to  dictate  that  last 
portion  of  Scripture  which  discloses  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
church  to  the  end  of  time  ?  *  Have  they  not  been  heard 
rehearsing  for  the  day  when  they  will  have  to  lead  the  anthem 
of  the  blessed,  and  celebrate  the  triumph  of  the  mediatorial 
scheme  in  our  recovery?  In  fine,  "  are  they  not  all  minister- 
ing spirits  sent  forth  to  minister  to  them  who  shall  be  heirs 
of  salvation?"  and  when  the  success  of  the  gospel  provokes 
the  hostility  of  the  world,  is  it  not  theirs  to  sound  the  trum- 
pets and  to  discharge  the  vials  of  judgment?  and  are  not  all 
their  ministers  combined,  as  far  as  compatible  with  the  laws 
of  their  economy,  for  advancing  the  progress  of  the  gospel  ?  t 
and  would  they  not  denounce  the  highest  intelligences  among 
them,  who  should  withhold  a  single  ministration  which  was 
due  to  this  object,  as  a  traitor  to  the  cause  of  mercy  ?  And 
if  it  is  ever  permitted  them  to  offer  a  petition,  must  it  not  be 
one  which  prays,  "  Thy  kingdom  come,  thy  will  be  done  on 
earth  as  it  is  in  heaven  "  ?  —  one  which  shows  they  are  travail- 
ing in  birth  for  the  conversion  of  the  world,  and  panting  to 
see  the  church  on  earth  as  devoted  to  its  office  as  the  church 
in  heaven,  and  both  cooperating  together  for  this  great  con- 
summation ? 

Had  it  been  permitted  to  angels  to  occupy  the  place  of 

*  Rev.  xxii.  16.  t  Acts  v.  20.     Rev.  xiv.  16. 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   SCRIPTURE.  103 

man  in  the  administration  of  the  gospel,  would  whole  regions 
have  been  now  sitting  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of 
death  1  would  not  each  of  them  have  resembled  him  who  was 
seen  in  vision  flying  with  the  everlasting  gospel  through 
the  midst  of  heaven  1  Or,  were  they  now  to  be  permitted  by 
God,  and  authorized  by  the  church,  to  prescribe  its  duties 
and  to  dispose  of  its  resources,  would  not  a  revolution  be 
speedily  effected  in  its  state  which  would  say  to  numbers  who 
are  now  slumbering  at  home,  "  Go,  stand,  and  speak  unto  the 
people  [in  the  distant  temples  of  idolatry]  all  the  words  of 
this  life ;  "  and  which  would  put  them  in  possession  of  the 
means  of  going  ?  Or,  were  it  permitted  them  even  to  address 
us  on  the  subject,  what  could  the  import  of  their  language 
be,  but  an  urgent  exhortation  to  diffuse  the  knowledge  of  that 
mediation  by  which  they  and  we  are  made  one  1  "  Brethren 
in  Christ,"  they  would  say  —  for  in  him  "the  whole  family  in 
heaven  and  earth  is  named"  —  "you  have  been  brought  back 
into  order  and  harmony  with  the  universe ;  how  can  you  live 
for  any  other  object  than  that  of  aiming  to  add  others  to  your 
number?  When  we  saw  you  restored  to  the  circle  from 
which  you  had  been  lost,  we  exulted  in  the  event ;  for  not 
only  did  we  behold  you,  by  anticipation,  occupying  your  ap- 
pointed place  in  heaven,  —  we  saw  your  appointed  place  in  the 
church  on  earth ;  saw  that  you  were  called  to  occupy  it  as 
agents  for  Christ,  and  knew  the  happy  consequences  which 
would  ensue  from  your  required  devotedness  to  its  duties. 
Not  more  certainly  is  the  throne  of  every  believer  prepared 
in  heaven,  than  his  appropriate  place  is  prescribed  on  earth. 
In  the  system  to  which  you  now  belong,  every  being,  from 
the  loftiest  archangel  to  the  lowliest  saint,  has  his  course 
assigned,  and  every  holy  act  its  appointed  effect.  You  '  have 
come  to  an  innumerable  company  of  angels.'  But  the  only 
object  in  which  you  and  we  can  practically  sympathize  and 
unite  is  in  the  enlargement  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and 
the  celebration  of  his  glory.  In  every  thing  which  relates  to 
this,  so  truly  are  we  one,  that  never  can  you  put  forth  the 
least  effort  for  its  furtherance,  but  the  act  thrills  through  all 
our  principalities  and  powers,  and  carries  with  it  all  our  sym- 
pathies. So  distinctly  do  we  see  the  design  of  Christ  in  call- 
ing you  to  occupy  a  place  among  the  agents  of  his  media- 
tion;  so  evident  is  the  adaptation  of  his  church  "to  collect  all 
such  agencies  as  they  arise,  and  to  combine  them  with  those 
already  in  operation ;  and  so  evident  the  certainty  with  which 


104  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

the  whole  is  calculated  instrumentally  to  repair  the  effects  of 
sin  and  restore  the  harmony  of  the  universe,  that  we  beseech 
you,  by  the  new  fellowship  to  which  you  are  admitted,  and  by 
our  gathering  together  in  him,  that  you  do  the  will  of  God  on 
earth  as  unitedly  and  devoutly  as  we  your  co-workers  are  doing 
it  in  heaven.  From  the  higher  ground  we  occupy,  we  can 
survey  the  fearful  consequences  of  your  neglect  in  all  their 
aspects,  bearings,  and  dimensions  —  the  glory  lost  to  God,  the 
happiness  lost  to  yourselves  and  to  us,  and  the  immortal 
spirits  which  you  are  allowing  to  pass  into  misery  in  un- 
broken procession,  unwarned  and  unsaved,  —  consequences  so 
fearful,  that,  were  the  exchange  permitted,  gladly  would  we 
resign  our  heavenly  places  to  you,  that  we  might  discharge 
your  trust,  wield  your  influence,  and  win  the  honors  which 
are  offered  to  you  in  drawing  men  to  Christ.  So  eager  are 
we  to  behold  the  completion  of  the  mediatorial  scheme,  as  it 
relates  to  the  recovery  of  man  —  to  gaze  on  the  only  Begot- 
ten of  the  Father  on  the  throne  of  the  universe,  encircled  by 
the  thrones  and  dominions,  principalities  and  powers,  of 
heaven,  and  by  the  number  which  no  one  can  number  save 
from  the  earth — all  radiant  with  his  glory,  living  in  his 
smiles,  and  joined  in  his  praise — and  so  fully  are  we  pos- 
sessed with  the  conviction  that  the  entire  consecration  and 
union  of  all  your  sanctified  instrumentality  are  essential  to 
bring  it  to  pass,  that  we  adjure  you,  by  the  glory  which  shall 
then  be  revealed,  that  you  '  henceforth  live,  not  unto  your- 
selves, but  unto  him  who  died  for  you  and  rose  again.'  All 
in  heaven  is  ready  for  the  great  consummation,  —  each  angel, 
as  an  agent  of  Providence,  is  at  his  post  —  each  vial  of  judg- 
ment waits  to  be  discharged  on  your  foes.  He  in  whom  we 
both  are  one  is  on  his  throne,  '  from  henceforth  expecting ' 
the  glorious  issue.  What  other  mediatorial  wonders  may 
await  the  disclosures  of  eternity  we  know  not ;  but  as  if  the 
restoration  of  man  were  only  the  first  in  a  series  of  wonders 
—  as  if  infinite  plans  were  held  in  abeyance  —  the  happiness 
of  unknown  worlds  were  kept  in  suspense  till  this  be  com- 
plete, unite  all  your  influence  in  a  great  endeavor  to  make 
good  our  announcement  at  the  advent  of  Christ,  '  Glory  to 
God  in  the  highest,  on  earth  peace  and  good-will  towards 
man.5 " 

Now  this,  in  effect,  is  the  language  in  which  the  hierarchy 
of  heaven  may  be  regarded  as  perpetually  stimulating  the 
apathy,  and  urging  the  efforts,  of  the  redeemed  on    earth. 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM    SCRIPTURE.  105 

To  the  eye  of  faith  they  stand  revealed,  and  are  ever  present, 
as  a  great  cloud  of  witnesses.  Never  are  they  absent  from 
our  midst,  either  actually  mingling  their  agencies  with  ours, 
or  through  the  medium  of  our  faith  shedding  a  practical  influ- 
ence on  our  conduct ;  and  thus,  in  the  mediatorial  economy, 
all  the  sanctified  influences  of  heaven  and  earth  are  combined 
in  the  prosecution  of  its  saving  design.  The  chain  of  rela- 
tionship and  mutual  influence  passes  not  only  from  hand  to 
hand  through  the  church  militant,  but  through  "  all  the  family 
in  heaven  and  earth,"  holding  the  entire  community  in  union 
for  the  good  of  the  world. 

XI.  But,  further,  this  economy  not  only  unites  all  the 
diversified  influences  which  it  includes  into  one  agency,  —  it 
also  combines  all  their  accumulations  from  age  to  age,  and 
seeks  to  devolve  the  whole  entire  on  each  successive  genera- 
tion in  the  church ;  so  that  we  of  the  present  day  are  living 
under  the  collected  influences  of  all  the  past,  and  moving 
under  an  impulsive  power  greater  than  that  of  any  preceding 
age. 

The  analogy  of  this  truth  indeed  runs  though  all  nature ;  * 
and  the  moral  influence  of  national  history  furnishes  perhaps 
its  best  illustration.  A  people  rich  in  the  wealth  of  ancestral 
worth  possess  strong  incentives  perpetually  urging  them  to 
noble  deeds.  To  this  cause  much  of  Roman  greatness  is 
ascribed.  "  The  Roman  citizens  adorned  the  vestibules  of 
their  dwellings  with  the  images  of  their  ancestors ;  so  that 
the  faces  of  the  patriot,  the  warrior,  and  the  philosopher,  were 
ever  present,  to  remind  them  of  their  exploits,  and  to  stimu- 
late them  to  imitation.  The  design  was  crowned  with  suc- 
cess. The  virtue  of  one  generation  was  transferred  by  the 
magic  of  example  into  several ;  and  heroism  was  propagated 
through  the  commonwealth."  "  Among  no  other  nation," 
says  Schlegel,  in  his  Philosophy  of  History,  "  did  historical 
recollections  even  of  the  remotest  antiquity  exert  such  a  pow- 
erful influence  on  life,  or  strike  so  deep  a  root  in  the  minds 
of  men."  But,  surely,  (if  it  be  allowed  to  bring  sacred  his- 
tory into  the  comparison,)  the  Jewish  nation  must  be  regarded 
as  forming  a  grand  exception.  According  to  apostolic  author- 
ity, the  "  advantage  of  the  Jew  was  much  every  way,  but, 
chiefly,  that  unto  them  were  committed  the  oracles  of  God." 

*  See  Bishop  Butler's  Analogy,  Pt.  ii.  chap.  4. 


106  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

That  which  distinguished  them  far  above  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth  was,  that,  from  the  time  of  their  settlement  in  Judea, 
they  lived  and  moved  under  the  direct  influence  of  their 
miraculous  history  —  while  one  design  of  the  temple  appears 
to  have  been,  that,  by  making  it  the  shrine  of  their  most 
ancient  and  sacred  relics,  and  the  visible  abode  of  religion, 
that  influence  might  constantly  act  on  them  with  ever-aug- 
mented force.  If  it  be  true  that  the  man  is  little  to  be  envied 
who  could  walk  "  indifferent  and  unmoved  over  any  ground 
which  has  been  dignified  by  wisdom,  bravery,  and  virtue  — 
whose  patriotism  would  not  gain  force  upon  the  plain  of 
Marathon,  or  whose  piety  would  not  grow  warmer  among  the 
ruins  of  Ionia  —  that  to  abstract  the  mind  from  local  emotion 
would  be  impossible  if  it  were  endeavored,  and  would  be 
foolish  if  it  were  possible,"  how  deep  and  lasting  the  impres- 
sion calculated  to  be  produced  on  a  people  who  had  to  walk 
daily  amidst  the  solemn  and  gorgeous  magnificence  of  an 
ancient  economy  adjusted  and  adorned  by  the  immediate 
hand  of  Deity  !  As  if  inhabiting  the  sacred  enclosure  of 
the  temple  itself,  they  were  addressed  perpetually  by  solemn 
voices  from  the  past,  and  called  on  from  every  side  by  influ- 
ences accumulated  from  the  creation  of  the  world.  So  deep 
was  the  effect  produced  on  them  —  though,  alas!  a  perverted 
one  —  that  ages  on  ages  of  suffering  have  not  been  able  to 
efface,  nor  hardly  to  impair  it. 

Now,  all  the  wealth  of  moral  influence  which  belonged  to 
that  dispensation  has  been  poured  into  the  treasury  of  the 
Christian  church.  We  "  have  come  unto  Mount  Sion."  It 
is  not  lost,  but  transferred,  accumulated,  and  put  into  wide 
circulation.  True,  the  temple  is  gone  —  its  most  sacred 
things  have  disappeared  —  the  economy  itself  is  abolished  — 
the  very  nation  scattered  to  the  winds  of  heaven  —  but  all  its 
proper  and  mighty  influence  still  exists.  Nothing  that  be- 
longed to  it  existed  for  itself.  Every  judgment  that  made  it 
awful  looked  on  beyond  its  own  time,  and  is  frowning  still. 
"  All  these  things  happened  unto  them  for  ensamples ;  and 
they  are  written  for  our  admonition,  upon  whom  the  ends  of 
the  world  are  come."  Each  of  its  prophets  spoke  less  for 
his  own  time  than  for  ours ;  so  that  for  us  he  is  prophesying 
still  —  "  Not  unto  themselves  but  unto  us  they  did  minister 
the  things  which  are  now  reported  unto  you  by  them  that 
have  preached  the  gospel  unto  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent 
down  from  heaven ;  which  things  the  angels  desire  to  look 


ILLUSTRATED    FROM    SCRIPTURE.  107 

into."  Every  event  which  distinguished  it  is  still  in  actual 
operation,  diffusing  the  elements  of  other  events,  and  propa- 
gating its  influence  somewhere.  And  where  shall  we  look 
for  that  influence,  but  within  the  limits  of  the  Christian 
church  ?  The  Bible  is  the  true  conductor  of  all  the  holy 
influences  the  world  has  contained  since  the  dawn  of  creation. 
From  it  the  Jewish  church  received,  in  a  concentrated  form, 
all  that  had  distinguished  the  preceding  economies,  from  the 
giving  of  the  first  promise  to  its  own  establishment  in  Judea. 
Not  even  the  holiest  of  all  its  members  would  have  been  what 
he  was,  had  Enoch  never  "  walked  with  God,"  or  had  the 
Bible  omitted  to  record  the  fact.  In  that  church,  therefore, 
it  may  be  truly  said,  Abel,  though  dead,  was  ever  speaking; 
and  "  Enoch,  the  seventh  from  Adam,"  was  ever  prophesying 
of  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  There,  the  patriarchs  came  and 
lived  again  for  their  posterity.  There,  the  rod  of  Aaron  was 
ever  blooming ;  the  manna  ever  fresh ;  *  the  rod  of  Moses 
ever  working  and  repeating  its  wonders.  There  Sinai  reared 
its  awful  head,  and  from  its  thundering  top  the  law  was  ever 
demanding  for  God  the  heart  of  the  world,  and  demanding 
from  every  man  the  love  of  all  the  rest. 

In  the  same  sense  the  Bible  has  now  discharged  all  the 
accumulated  moral  influences  of  the  last  economy  into  the 
present.  The  cross  has  received  and  transmitted  the  whole. 
Here,  in  effect,  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  still  stands.  Though 
in  a  literal  respect  not  one  stone  of  that  sacred  pile  remains 
upon  another,  in  the  hallowed  influence  which  it  sheds  over 
the  church  of  God  it  still  lifts  up  its  awful  front  —  its  fires 
still  burn  —  its  victims  still  bleed  —  its  day  of  atonement  still 
returns  —  its  sanctity  is  still  calling  on  the  church  for  its 
entire  consecration.  We  behold  these  objects  now  —  we 
shall  see  them  in  eternity.  All  the  great  events  and  solemn 
transactions  of  the  Old  Testament  may  be  regarded  as  having 
taken  place  in  the  Christian  church.  Here,  in  the  ministry 
of  the  gospel,  they  do  come  and  occur  again.  Here  its  mir- 
acles are  still  convincing,  and  its  angelic  messengers  still 
appearing.  Here  Moses  is  still  teaching  self-renunciation,  by 
wishing  himself  "  blotted  out  from  the  book  of  life  "  for  the 
good  of  others ;  and  David  leading  the  intercessions  of  the 
church  for  the  salvation  of  the  ends  of  the  earth ;  and  the 
prophets  still  "  testifying  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ  and  the 
glory  that  should  follow." 

*  Heb.  ix.  4. 


108  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

And,  what  is  more,  here  they  are  all  present  at  once. 
Truths  and  events  which  for  the  Jewish  church  were  scat- 
tered thinly  over  a  long  tract  of  time,  are  here  collected  to 
a  point  and  made  operative  at  once.  Ages,  with  the  men 
who  made  them  memorable  —  and  dispensations,  with  all  the 
miraculous  facts  and  sublime  disclosures  which  distinguished 
them,  pass  in  quick  and  close  succession  before  our  eyes ; 
and  we  feel  ourselves  standing  under  the  eye  and  influence 
of  the  whole. 

And,  more  even  than  this,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
great  as  was  the  influence  which  that  economy  was  calculated 
to  exercise  during  its  actual  existence,  that  influence  has 
gone  on  gathering  strength  with  each  successive  age,  and  is 
incalculably  mightier  at  this  moment  for  us  than  for  those 
who  lived  in  its  immediate  presence.  Not  only  do  all  its 
parts  act  on  us  at  once,  —  they  act  on  us  also  in  their  highest 
and  noblest  form.  For  us  it  is  all  meaning  and  spirit,  eman- 
cipated principle,  and  active  power.  Liberated  from  its 
former  restraints,  brought  into  the  light  of  a  more  spiritual 
economy,  and  allowed  free  scope  in  the  ampler  sphere  of  the 
Christian  church,  its  power  is  greater  now  than  during  it3 
actual  reign  on  Zion.  As  it  was  typical,  it  was  temporary  — 
formed  for,  and  acting  upon,  "  the  time  then  present ;  "  but 
as  it  imbodied  evangelical  and  immortal  principles,  it  was 
far  in  advance  of  its  time,  and  destined  to  act  chiefly  on  the 
future.  Who  will  not  admit  that  the  character  of  the  Psalm- 
ist, for  instance,  is  exercising  much  greater  moral  power  now 
than  when  he  was  alive  ?  Who  does  not  feel  that  his  prayers 
for  the  universal  diffusion  of  the  truth,  and  the  splendid  vis- 
ions of  prophecy  in  which  those  aspirations  were  seen  realized, 
have  not  yet  attained  their  proper  place  of  power?  —  that 
they  have  all  along  been  struggling  to  reach  it  —  that  they 
are  only  as  yet  beginning  to  produce  their  legitimate  effect  — 
and  that  with  every  successive  year  that  effect,  under  God,  is 
likely  to  increase  ?  What  manner  of  persons  ought  we  to  be 
to  whom  all  this  rich  inheritance  has  descended  ! 

But  together  with  all  this  influence  from  the  former  econ- 
omy, there  blends  a  mightier  influence  peculiar  to  the  present, 
a  power  so  irresistible,  that  wherever  it  has  had  "  free  course," 
it  has  swept  away  the  thrones  of  idolatry,  changed  the  aspect 
of  society,  and  left  its  impress  on  every  object  it  has  touched. 
Ours  is  the  cross  —  the  great  power  of  God  —  not  only 
absorbing  and  concentrating  all  the  influences  of  the  past, 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM    SCRIPTURE.  109 

but  charged  with  a  new  power  direct  from  God  —  containing 
in  its  bosom  all  the  springs  of  benevolence  the  world  will 
ever  know ;  an  energy  of  expansive  goodness  capable  of 
replenishing  the  universe  with  light  and  love.  Here  God 
is  seen  enriching  the  world  with  a  gift  which  leaves  it  noth- 
ing to  dread,  or  to  ask  for  more.  Here  Christ  is  seen  taking 
the  world  to  his  heart  —  seizing  our  nature  as  it  trembles 
over  the  bottomless  gulf —  assuming  it  into  union  with  his 
own  —  taking  our  place  under  the  descending  stroke  of  jus- 
tice, and  suffering  in  our  stead.  Before  our  eyes  "  Jesus 
Christ  is  here  evidently  set  forth  crucified  amongst  us." 
Here  the  Infinite  Spirit  himself  descends  from  the  heights 
of  his  everlasting  dwelling-place,  as  a  rushing  mighty  wind  — 
and  the  cries  of  penitence  are  heard  around.  Here  angels, 
drawn  from  heaven,  bend  to  gaze,  and  labor  to  comprehend 
the  mystery  of  incarnate  love.  Apostles  come  to  lose  them- 
selves in  wonder,  and  exclaim,  "  Herein  is  love ;  "  and  to  sur- 
charge their  hearts  with  a  benevolence  which  impels  them  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth  testifying  that  "  the  Father  hath  sent 
the  Son  to  be  the  Savior  of  the  world."  Here  the  bigotry  of 
the  Synagogue,  the  doubts  of  the  Academy,  and  the  pride  of 
the  Portico,  are  seen  kneeling  around,  and  humbled  in  the 
dust.  And  here  he  who  was  the  fit  representative  of  them 
all,  comes  to  smite  on  his  breast,  and  say,  "  God  forbid  that  I 
should  henceforth  glory  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  "  —  and  hastens  away  to  fill  the  nations  with  the  report 
of  its  glories,  and  to  call  on  all  who  believed  it  to  help  him 
onwards  to  the  regions  beyond. 

If  the  influence  of  promises  comparatively  vague  in  their 
meaning,  and  indefinitely  distant  in  their  fulfilment,  could 
produce,  under  God,  the  martyr-piety  of  Abel  —  the  daunt- 
less fidelity  of  Enoch  —  the  persevering  obedience  of  Noah  — 
the  missionary  pilgrimage  of  Abraham  —  and  the  self-sacri- 
ficing zeal  of  Moses ;  if  the  comparatively  feeble  influences 
of  the  Jewish  dispensation  could  create,  under  God,  those 
splendid  constellations  of  excellence  which  glow  and  burn  in 
the  eleventh  chapter  to  the  Hebrews,  who  shall  set  limits  to 
that  moral  greatness  and  Christian  devotedness  which  the 
mightier  influences  of  the  gospel  should  produce?  To  know 
that,  in  practical  effect,  a  whole  economy  has  existed  for  us, 
that  is,  for  the  church  of  which  we  are  members  —  that  for 
us  its  heroes  lived,  and  its  martyrs  died  —  to  know  that  for 
us  that  economy  of  a  thousand  years  was  at  last  dismissed,  as 
10 


110  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

for  us  it  had  at  first  been  called  into  being,  leaving  to  us  all 
its  rich  accumulations  of  inspired  wisdom,  godlike  example, 
and  moral  wealth,  —  this,  alone,  should  surely  be  sufficient 
to  teach  us  the  greatness  of  living  for  the  future,  and  to 
kindle  in  our  hearts  the  unquenchable  desire  of  transmitting 
the  great  inheritance  to  those  who  succeed  us,  not  merely 
unimpaired,  but  augmented  by  the  influence  of  our  own 
devotedness. 

But  to  know  that  that  which  displaced  that  economy  was 
the  personal  advent,  the  visible  humiliation,  the  actual  sac- 
rifice of  the  Son  of  God  —  that  the  eternal  Father  should 
have  so  loved  us  as  to  give  from  his  bosom  "  the  express 
image  of  his  person  "  —  should  surely  come  on  us  with  an 
effect  which  should  leave  us  no  power  but  that  of  obedience  — 
no  wish  but  that  of  multiplying  our  means  of  serving  him  a 
thousand-fold.  "  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  deliv- 
ered him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him  also,"  asks 
the  apostle,  "freely  give  us  all  things?"  Might  he  not, 
with  equal  conclusiveness,  have  inquired,  How  shall  we  not 
for  him  also  freely  give  him  all  things  ?  Before  that  gift 
could  have  been  bestowed,  the  ocean  of  the  divine  benevo- 
lence must  have  been  stirred  in  all  its  unfathomable  depths ; 
should  the  shallow  stream  of  our  gratitude  be  only  rippled  on 
the  surface  ?  Of  all  his  infinite  resources,  he  freely  gave  the 
sum ;  of  the  mite-like  penury  of  our  nature,  shall  we  return 
him  only  a  part  ?  To  know  that  he  who  was  rich  should  for 
our  sakes  have  become  poor  —  that  the  second  person  in  the 
mysterious  Godhead  should  have  personally  descended  to  our 
rescue  —  descended  from  one  depth  of  humiliation  to  another, 
till  a  cross  arrested  his  further  descent,  and  made  it  impossible 
for  divine  condescension  itself  to  st6op  lower,  —  this  is  knowl- 
edge which,  as  it  has  moved  all  heaven,  should  surely  be 
sufficient  to  move  and  agitate  all  earth.  To  hear  that  event 
succeeded  by  the  sounds  and  signs  of  another  advent  —  the 
advent  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  the  converter  and  sanctifier  of 
human  souls  —  to  find  that  thus  each  of  the  three  persons  in 
the  awful  and  mysterious  Godhead  is  infinitely  interested  in 
our  recovery  —  that  there  has  actually  been  disclosed,  in 
consequence,  a  new  bond  of  their  ineffable  union  in  the  fact 
of  their  cooperation  for  that  recovery,  —  and  that  so  intently 
is  the  compassion  of  the  Triune  God  set  on  the  object,  that 
no  truth  is  left  untaught,  no  miracle  of  mercy  unperformed, 
no  angel  or  agency  unemployed,  no  part  of  the  universe  un- 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   SCRIPTURE.  Ill 

moved,  no  perfection  of  the  divine  nature  unconcerned,  no 
aspect  of  the  divine  character  unexhibited,  which  is  in  the 
least  essential  to  its  accomplishment  —  surely  this  should 
leave  no  portion  of  the  church  at  rest,  no  means  within  its 
farthest  reach  untaxed  for  the  attainment  of  the  same  end. 

To  find  that  this  is  clearly  the  divine  design  —  that  Christ, 
as  the  head  of  the  church  on  earth,  authoritatively  requires 
that  each  individual  Christian  surrender  himself,  and  live  su- 
premely for  the  conversion  of  others ;  that  these  unite  into 
particular  societies  for  the  conversion  of  greater  numbers 
still ;  that  all  these  societies,  in  every  land,  combine  in  sym- 
pathy and  purpose  for  the  salvation  of  the  entire  race;  —  to 
find  that,  as  the  President  of  the  Universe,  having  "  all  power 
in  heaven  and  on  earth,"  he  commands  and  combines  the 
sympathies  and  instrumentality  of  the  church  in  heaven  with 
that  of  the  church  on  earth  —  assigning  to  angels  the  time 
and  the  place  for  their  agency  in  providence,  concurring  with 
the  movements  of  his  kingdom  of  grace  ;  —  and  to  find  that 
in  the  same  mediatorial  capacity  he  even  adds  the  presence 
and  the  renewing  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  himself — surely 
this  should  leave  no  Christian  unemployed,  no  church  unre- 
lated, no  agency  we  could  invoke  in  earth  or  heaven  to  be 
absent  from  our  combined  endeavor  to  carry  it  into  effect.  And 
to  find  that  this  design  is  as  practicable  as  it  is  obligatory ;  to 
hear  other  Christians  avowing  their  readiness  to  be  messen- 
gers or  martyrs  —  honored  or  "  accursed,"  any  thing  or  noth- 
ing —  so  that  they  might  be  instrumental  in  promoting  it ;  — 
to  see  churches  selecting  and  sending  out  such  men  to  carry 
the  gospel  onwards  —  other  churches  emulating  their  ex- 
ample ;  —  to  find  that  each  convert,  as  he  comes  into  the 
church,  is  expected  to  proceed  to  his  post  and  to  commence 
his  service,  —  and  that  each  church,  as  it  comes  into  being,  is 
expected  to  enter  into  the  general  fellowship,  and  to  help  for- 
ward the  common  object  of  the  whole ;  to  see  that  the  suc- 
cess of  one  church  is  rejoiced  in  as  the  triumph  of  all,  and 
that,  if  they  suspend  their  song  of  praise  for  a  while,  it  is  only 
to  read  over  again  the  command  which  first  sent  them  forth, 
"  Go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture "  —  to  prostrate  themselves  in  prayer  for  that  aid  which 
the  Spirit  alone  can  impart,  and  which  furnishes  them  with 
renewed  occasion  for  louder  triumphs  still  —  this  is  a  spec- 
tacle which  should  surely  leave  no  other  question  on  the  lips 
of  the   individual  Christian  than,  "  Where  is  my  post,  and 


112  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

what  shall  I  do  ?  "  and  no  other  law  for  the  church  universal 
than  that  of  entire  consecration. 

Now,  this  was  the  prayer  of  Christ,  not  for  the  apostles 
only,  "  but  for  them  also/'  he  adds,  "  who  shall  believe  on 
me  through  their  word ;  that  they  all  may  be  one,  *  *  *  that 
the  world  may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me."  Finding 
themselves  acted  on  by  hallowed  and  benevolent  influences 
from  every  quarter,  and  from  the  remotest  period  of  the 
church,  surrounded  by  lofty  examples  of  Christian  devoted- 
ness,  and  ever  standing  in  the  presence  of  his  wondrous  cross, 
he  prayed  that  they  might  feel  themselves  impelled  to  make 
his  consecration  the  model  and  motive  of  their  own,  that  God 
might  be  glorified,  and  man  be  saved. 

Be  it  remembered,  also,  as  we  shall  hereafter  have  occasion 
to  show,  that  there  is  a  sense  in  which  we  of  the  present  day 
sustain  the  acccumulated  responsibility  of  the  eighteen  cen- 
turies which  have  revolved  since  that  prayer  was  uttered.  In 
each  succeeding  age,  "  the  truth "  to  which  it  refers,  has, 
through  the  promised  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  been  exer- 
cising its  consecrating  influence,  and  instrumentally  creat- 
ing eminent  examples  of  conscientiousness  which  treated  no 
duty  as  unwelcome,  and  which  evaded  no  obligation  —  of  fidel- 
ity which  spared  no  sin,  nor  allowed  any  iniquity,  however 
splendid  and  powerful,  to  pass  unrebuked  —  of  courage  which 
cowered  before  no  danger,  and  shrunk  from  no  conflict  —  of 
enlarged  benevolence  which  knew  no  limits  to  its  plans,  and 
toils,  and  travels  for  the  welfare  of  man  —  of  Christian  self- 
abandonment,  which  swore  eternal  devotedness  to  Christ, 
though  in  the  presence  of  the  flames  which  were  kindled  for 
its  martyrdom — and  of  love  for  man,  which,  even  in  those 
flames,  wept  over  the  misery  of  the  world,  and  agonized  in 
prayer  for  its  recovery.  These  examples  are  not  lost,  though 
their  memory  is  not  embalmed  in  the  volume  of  inspiration  ; 
their  influence  has  been  really  added  to  that  of  patriarchs  and 
prophets,  of  apostles  and  primitive  saints.  Whether  we  are 
conscious  of  its  stimulating  power  or  not,  we  are  all  at  this 
moment  reaping  its  advantage,  and  are  consequently  standing 
under  the  weight  of  an  increased  responsibility. 

And  to  this,  as  the  next  chapter  is  intended  to  evince,  is 
also  to  be  added  the  influence  acting  on  us  from  the  prophetic 
disclosures  of  the  future.  The  torch  which  the  hand  of 
prophecy  holds  up,  throws  its  beams  onwards  to  the  consum- 
mation of  all  things.     By  this  light  we  catch  glimpses  of 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   SCRIPTURE.  113 

noble  examples  yet  to  arise,  and  of  glories  yet  to  dawn. 
Many  are  seen  running  to  and  fro  with  the  message  of  salva- 
tion—  the  Spirit  poured  out  from  on  high  to  give  it  success 
—  multitudes  nocking  to  embrace  it  —  angels  discharging 
destruction  on  its  foes  —  mountainous  obstacles  rolled  from 
its  path  —  nations  walking  in  its  light — heaven  and  earth 
celebrating  its  triumphs  —  and  Christ,  encircled  by  his  re- 
deemed myriads,  and  receiving  the  homage  of  the  universe. 
One  of  the  obvious  intentions  of  these  disclosures  is,  that, 
by  the  certain  prospect  they  afford  of  ultimate  success,  the 
church  may  be  encouraged  to  act  out  its  divine  design,  and 
to  throw  all  its  sanctified  energies  into  the  object  of  the 
world's  recovery.  This  is  the  effect  which  they  have  had  on 
many  of  its  members  in  every  age.  "  Having  seen  them  afar 
off,"  and  caught  their  inspiration,  the  martyr  for  Christ  has 
embraced  the  block  —  the  minister  has  startled  the  slumber- 
ing church  —  the  missionary  has  gone  forth  to  awake  the 
slumbering  world  —  the  saint,  like  David,  has  poured  out  as 
his  latest  prayer,  "  Blessed  be  his  holy  name  forever  and  ever, 
and  let  the  whole  earth  be  filled  with  his  glory ;  "  and  the 
church  has  echoed  with  the  response  of  thousands,  adding, 
"  Amen,  and  amen."  And  for  us  the  light  of  prophecy  still 
burns,  that  on  us  it  may  produce  the  same  effects. 

And  who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?  "  We  are  placed, 
as  it  were,  in  the  middle  of  a  scheme,  not  a  fixed  but  a  pro- 
gressive one."  The  character  of  the  economy  under  which 
our  lot  is  cast,  is,  in  this  respect,  unity  in  progress  —  unity 
with  all  the  past,  in  progress  for  all  the  future.  Upon  our 
heads,  the  relations,  influences,  and  consequent  responsibil- 
ities of  all  the  past  meet  and  rest,  and  to  us  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  the  remotest  generations  of  time,  and  all  the  holy 
beings  and  interests  in  the  universe,  are  looking  for  corre- 
sponding fidelity  and  zeal.  Whoever  may  deem  it  necessary 
to  form  plans  of  independent  action,  we  are  surely  exempted 
from  the  necessity ;  for  we  ourselves  form  parts  of  a  mediato- 
rial plan,  whose  provisions  prepared  a  place  for  us,  and  be- 
spoke the  entire  activity  and  influence  of  our  whole  nature, 
even  before  we  came  into  existence  ;  so  that  the  only  solici- 
tude left  for  us  is,  how  best  we  may  satisfy  its  high  require- 
ments. Boast  who  may  of  extensive  relations  and  influence, 
this  plan  connects  us  with  every  being  and  agency  the  past 
has  known,  and  places  in  our  hand  lines  of  interminable  rela- 
tion and  influence  with  all  the  universal  and  endless  future. 
10* 


114  CHRISTIAN   INSTRUMENTALITY 

Tremble  who  may  under  a  sense  of  responsibility,  "  upon  us 
the  ends  of  the  world  are  come."  Our  very  position  conse- 
crates us  to  the  loftiest  service,  loads  us  with  the  weightiest 
obligation,  surrounds  us  with  anxious  eyes  and  cries  of  solici- 
tude from  every  quarter  of  the  divine  dominions.  For  the 
church  to  be  faithful  now,  is  to  save  the  world.  Now,  if 
ever,  "  the  weak  should  be  as  David,  and  David  as  an  angel 
of  the  Lord."  Now,  if  ever,  prayer  should  wrestle  —  liber- 
ality should  bring  forth  its  richest  offering,  its  final  mite  — 
the  church  should  unite  and  clothe  itself  with  zeal.  For 
now,  if  ever,  crowns  may  be  gained,  and  kingdoms  won,  and 
a  world,  in  the  crisis  of  its  danger,  be  saved  —  crowns  to  be 
cast  at  the  feet  of  Christ,  kingdoms  of  which  he  is  rightful 
Lord ;  and  a  world  from  which  he  is  destined  to  derive  his 
richest  revenue  of  praise  forever. 


CHAPTER    III. 


CHRISTIAN  INSTRUMENTALITY  FOR  THE  EVANGELIZATION 
OF  THE  WORLD  ILLUSTRATED  AND  ENFORCED  FROM 
PROPHECY. 

If  such  be  the  theory  of  Christian  instrumentality  —  if  its 
place  in  the  divine  administration  be  so  definite  —  its  obliga- 
tions so  solemn  —  and  its  capabilities,  under  God,  so  great,  we 
may  reasonably  expect  that  in  a  book  so  abounding  with  pro- 
phetic disclosures  as  the  Bible,  some  glimpses,  at  least,  will 
be  afforded  us  of  its  ultimate  results. 

That  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is  not  to  be  always  limited  and 
depressed,  is  clearly  affirmed  and  universally  admitted.  For, 
as  it  has  been  justly  remarked,  "  The  prophecies  respecting 
the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  its  extension  and  duration,  and 
the  happiness  of  his  innumerable  subjects,  are  in  a  much 
greater  proportion  than  those  which  describe  his  humiliation 
to  sufferings,  and  his  dreadful  death."  *  The  isles  are  to  wait 
for  his  law  —  the  ends  of  the  earth  are  to  fear  him  —  all  na- 

*  Rev.  J.  P.  Smith,  D.  D. 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   PROPHECY.  115 

tions  are  to  be  blessed  in  him  —  the  heathen  are  to  become 
his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  his  pos- 
session ;  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it. 

Inspired  by  the  kindling  influence  of  such  a  prospect,  the 
Christian  church  has,  in  every  age,  sung  of  a  millennium,  —  a 
period  during  which  all  the  authorities  of  earth  are  to  take 
law  and  life  from  the  lips  of  Christ ;  all  nations  to  be  enrolled 
among  his  subjects ;  all  flesh  to  come  before  him ;  and  all  his 
enemies  to  be  placed  beneath  his  feet. 

But  if  the  Bible  be  thus  the  prophet  of  hope,  and  if  the 
loftiest  strains  of  those  who  believe  it  be  of  a  glory  yet 
to  come,  it  becomes  proportion  ably  important  to  inquire 
whether  it  deigns  any  disclosures  concerning  the  means  which 
are  to  lead  to  it ;  whether  the  universal  triumph  of  the  gos- 
pel is  to  be  achieved,  for  example,  by  the  noiseless  and  grad- 
ually augmented  instrumentality  of  the  Christian  church, 
accompanied  by  the  energizing  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit ; 
whether  it  is  to  be  effected  in  a  manner  quite  irrespective  of 
such  instrumentality,  and  calculated  to  disparage  it  before 
the  eyes  of  the  universe  as  misplaced  and  officious ;  or 
whether  the  grand  consummation  shall  be  realized  by  a  mid- 
dle course,  which,  while  it  will  be  always  demanding,  em- 
ploying, and  absorbing  all  the  sanctified  resources  of  the 
Christian  church,  will  yet  leave  room  for  the  marked,  and 
frequent,  and  direct  interference  of  Heaven,  and  which  will 
render  such  interposition  indispensable  to  final  and  complete 
success. 

This,  indeed,  has  been  a  subject  of  the  deepest  interest  to 
the  church  in  every  age.  For  as  her  heralds  have  gone 
forth  to  proclaim  the  gospel,  and  her  martyrs  have  poured 
out  their  blood  to  seal  its  truth,  which  of  their  bosoms  did 
not  swell  with  the  ennobling  thought  which  fired  the  bosom 
of  Latimer  in  Smithfield  —  that  they  were  assisting  to  enkin- 
dle a  light  which  should  never  be  extinguished  —  that  their  de- 
votedness  would  be  in  some  way  connected  with  the  eventual 
triumph  of  the  cross,  and  be  made  subservient  to  it?  In 
proportion,  however,  as  the  time  of  the  end  approaches,  the 
question  as  to  the  relation  which  sanctified  human  instrumen- 
tality bears  to  it,  acquires  additional  interest.  A  thousand 
signs  are  supposed  to  prognosticate  that  the  end  draweth 
nigh ;  and  each  of  them  awakens  the  inquiry  anew,  "  What 
is  the  relation  which  the  sanctified  agency  of  Christians  sus- 
tains to  it?     Is  their  benevolent  activity  essential,  in  the  order 


116  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

of  means,  to  the  latter-day  glory  ?  or  does  the  tenor  of  proph- 
ecy indicate  that,  so  far  from  contributing  aught  to  its  arrival 
and  its  splendor,  they  should  rather  "  stand  still,  and  see  the 
salvation  of  the  Lord  '  "  ? 

Still  more  important  does  this  inquiry  become  in  propor- 
tion as  Christians,  awaking  to  what  they  regard  as  the  voice 
of  duty,  multiply  their  institutions,  and  enlarge  the  sphere  of 
their  activity,  animated  by  the  hope  that  their  humble  endeav- 
ors shall  certainly  be  crowned  with  success.  Who  that  sur- 
veys the  wide  field  of  missionary  effort  in  the  present  day, 
and  marks  the  "  note  of  preparation  "  for  still  greater  activity, 
can  feel  indifferent  to  the  inquiry,  whether  or  not  it  is  to 
lead  to  any  valuable  result  ?  Who  does  not  perceive  that  on 
the  answer  to  this  inquiry  depends,  if  not  the  very  continu- 
ance of  our  activity,  much,  at  least,  of  the  cheerfulness  of  our 
obedience,  and  the  degree  of  our  devotedness?  And  who 
does  not  perceive  that  if  the  glory  of  the  millennium  is  to 
burst  on  the  world  quite  irrespective  of  Christian  instrumen- 
tality, to  urge  such  instrumentality  as  the  appointed  means  of 
hastening  that  period  is  to  indulge  in  delusion  for  the  present, 
and  to  prepare  mortification  for  the  future  ? 

But  should  there  be  those  in  the  church  of  any  consider- 
ation or  influence,  whose  views  of  prophecy  induce  them  to 
depreciate,  if  not  even  to  deprecate,  the  high  attempt  which 
aims  at  the  conversion  of  the  world,  it  becomes  a  step  of  the 
first  importance  to  inquire  into  the  authority  of  such  views, 
and,  if  found  unscriptural,  to  obviate  their  paralyzing  effect. 
We  are  aware,  indeed,  that  among  those  who,  for  the  sake  of 
distinction,  are  called  millenarians,  there  are  to  be  found  di- 
vines of  considerable  reputation,  and  Christians  of  the  highest 
sanctity.  And  equally  aware  are  we  that  under  the  generic 
name  of  millenarianism  is  included  a  great  diversity  of  opin- 
ions as  to  the  order  of  the  events  immediately  preceding  the 
millennium,  and  the  kind  of  means  which  will  be  made  con- 
tributory to  it  —  that  it  does  not  necessarily  disparage  the 
benevolent  endeavors  of  the  present  day,  nor  seek  to  dis- 
courage them  by  constantly  harping  on  their  ultimate  failure 
—  but  that  many  of  those  who  hold  it  profess  to  derive  from 
it  motives  to  increased  diligence  in  the  cause  of  God.  And, 
accordingly,  some  of  them,  we  are  aware,  number  among  the 
liberal  and  active  supporters  of  our  religious  institutions. 
Still,  however,  we  cannot  but  suspect  that  in  many  of  such 
instances,  we  are  indebted  for  what  they  do,  rather  to  the 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   PROPHECY.  117 

very  natural  desire  of  recommending  their  peculiar  views  to 
others  than  to  the  views  themselves  —  that  their  conduct  is, 
in  this  particular,  better  than  their  creed — that  it  is  the 
triumph  of  their  piety  over  their  opinions  —  and  that,  as  a 
vehicle  put  into  rapid  motion  will  continue  to  advance  for 
a  while,  by  its  own  momentum,  after  the  power  which  first  pro- 
pelled it  is  withdrawn,  their  present  activity  is  the  result  of 
principles  which  date  anterior  to  their  peculiar  views  of 
prophecy.  Our  warrant  for  this  fear  is  to  be  found  in  the 
fact  that  of  those  who,  prior  to  their  adoption  of  millenarian- 
ism,  "  did  run  well,"  and  who  even  subsequently  continued 
for  a  while  to  move  in  the  same  direction,  a  very  large  pro- 
portion are  now  acting,  in  reference  to  the  diffusion  of  the 
gospel,  as  if  a  prophet  had  been  deputed  to  say  to  them, 
"  Your  strength  is  to  sit  still." 

That  such  must  be  the  necessary  effect  of  all  views  of  the 
future  which  tend  to  show  that  the  endeavors  of  the  present 
will  prove  abortive,  is  evident.  Hope  is  the  parent  of  all 
activity.  We  ourselves  "  are  saved  by  hope ;  "  and  we  shall 
attempt  instrumentally  to  save  others  only  as  we  are  animated 
by  the  same  principle.  To  be  doomed  to  labor  without 
hope,  has  been  mythologically  represented  as  one  of  the 
punishments  of  the  lost.  To  expect,  then,  that  the  same 
efforts  will  be  made  where  failure  is  certain,  as  where  suc- 
cess is  anticipated,  is  to  overlook  a  fundamental  principle  of 
human  nature. 

To  say  that  "  duty  is  ours  and  events  are  God's,"  and 
that  therefore  we  are  to  advance  whatever  the  result  may  be, 
is  to  forget  the  important  fact,  that,  in  the  case  before  us,  the 
"  events,"  according  to  the  millenarian,  are  no  longer  God's, 
for  he  is  supposed  to  have  clearly  foretold  them.  This  pro- 
verbial saying,  therefore,  has  no  application  here.  As  long 
as  the  result  of  a  course  of  duty  is  doubtful  only,  hope  and 
fear  alternate;  nor  would  it  be  possible  for  fear  entirely  to 
prevail  without  bringing  the  mind  to  the  full  and  fatal  pause 
of  despair.  But  in  the  question  under  consideration,  we  are 
not  supposed  to  be  left  in  a  state  of  uncertainty  as  to  the 
issue  of  our  endeavors,  but  to  be  distinctly  apprized  that  they 
will  end  in  defeat.  And  the  known  and  inevitable  tendency 
of  such  a  state  of  mind  is  (with  certain  exceptions  of  the 
kind  we  have  noticed)  to  produce  relative  inaction.  For  if 
the  members  of  the  Christian  church  were  to  be  now  divided 
into  those  who  are  strenuous  in  the  cause  of  missions,  and 


118  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

those  who  are  comparatively  inert,  where  should  we  expect 
to  find  the  latter  but  among  those  who  are  postponing  the 
moral  improvement  of  the  world  to  the  second  coming  of 
Christ ;  and  who,  relying  on  the  sufficiency  of  that  future 
miracle,  anticipate  little  or  no  advantage  from  the  use  of 
present  means  ?  Nor  would  our  expectation,  it  is  to  be  feared, 
be  disappointed. 

On  a  question,  then,  involving  nothing  less  than  the  move- 
ments and  hopes  of  the  Christian  church  in  relation  to  the 
world,  and  the  practical  aspect  of  prophecy  towards  each, 
it  is  important  that  we  should  distinctly  state  what  it  is  we 
object  to  in  others,  and  what  are  the  views  and  expectations 
which,  from  a  consideration  of  prophecy,  we  ourselves  are 
led  to  entertain. 

With  the  minor  points  of  controversy  in  the  pre-millennial 
creed,  we  have  at  present  nothing  to  do;  nor  even  with  the 
great  question  of  the  "  personal  advent."  From  more  than  a 
cursory  survey  of  prophecy,  the  writer  is  free  to  admit  that 
the  hope  of  those  who  anticipate  that  the  happy  reign  of  piety 
on  earth  will  be  attained  by  the  peaceful  and  uninterrupted 
progress  of  the  means  at  present  employed,  and  by  these 
alone,  is  unwarranted  by  Scripture. 

The  cause  of  Christ,  as  now  conducted,  is  no  doubt  des- 
tined to  sustain  many  a  severe  encounter  and  disheartening 
reverse.  And  even  his  coming  *  —  the  advent  of  his  power, 
in  strange  providences,  and  at  critical  junctures — may  again 
and  again  be  necessary  in  order  to  turn  the  battle  at  the  gate, 
and  to  crown  it  with  success.  But  that  which  we  strenuously 
oppose  is  the  practical  inference  too  generally  drawn  from 
the  pre-millennial  creed,  and  which  operates,  as  we  think, 
both  to  the  dishonor  of  the  prophetic  Scriptures,  and  to  the 
discouragement  of  Christian  activity  —  namely,  that  because 
a  mighty  conflict  may  await  the  Christian  church,  and  because 
the  marked  interposition  of  Christ  may  be  necessary  to  ter- 
minate that  struggle,  and  to  take  actual  and  entire  possession 
of  the  earth,  therefore  but  little  real  good  is  to  be  expected 
from  the  most  devoted  endeavors  of  the  church  at  present. 
And  that  which  we  hope  to  substantiate  is,  first,  that  such  an 
inference  is  at  variance  with  some  of  the  admitted  principles 


*  The  Ttaoovola,  or  "  coming  of  Christ,"  is  referred  to  various  prov- 
idential events,  by  some  of  those,  even,  who  believe  that  it  relates 
preeminently  to  a  personal  pre-millennial  advent. 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM  PROPHECY.  119 

and  necessary  deductions  of  divine  revelation  ;  secondly,  that 
it  is  not  warranted  by  prophecy  itself;  but,  thirdly,  that  the 
very  reverse  is  the  doctrine  of  the  prophetic  Scriptures,  and, 
fourthly,  is  found  to  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  every  other 
part  of  the  Word  of  God,  by  which  its  correctness  can  be 
properly  tested. 

The  prosecution  of  this  inquiry  will,  if  we  do  not  greatly 
mistake,  disclose  the  important  facts,  that  whatever  conflicts 
may  hereafter  ensue  between  the  church  and  the  world,  will 
be  provoked  chiefly  by  the  success  of  the  gospel,  —  and  that 
whatever  judgments  the  earth  may  yet  be  called  to  witness, 
they  will  only  concur  with  the  power  of  the  gospel,  like  the 
miracles  of  the  primitive  church,  to  enlarge  the  domains  of 
the  Christian  faith ;  so  that  those  very  predictions,  which  are 
too  often  made  to  depress  the  hopes,  and  dishearten  the  zeal, 
of  the  church,  will  be  found  calculated,  when  rightly  under- 
stood, to  animate  its  activity  as  with  the  blast  of  a  trumpet. 
It  will  then  be  our  aim,  in  concluding  the  chapter,  to  har- 
monize the  whole  with  the  chapters  which  have  gone  before  ; 
and  to  show  the  bearing  of  the  entire  Part  on  the  consecra- 
tion of  the  church  for  the  conversion  of  the  world. 

I.  "  Every  single  text  of  prophecy,"  remarks  Bishop  Hors- 
ley,  "  is  to  be  considered  as  part  of  an  entire  system,  and  to 
be  understood  in  that  sense  which  may  best  connect  it  with 
the  whole."  Extending  still  farther  the  application  of  this 
valuable  rule  of  prophetic  exposition,  we  may  add,  that  the 
entire  scheme  of  prophecy  itself  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  part 
of  the  great  system  of  revelation,  and  to  be  understood  in  that 
sense  which  may  best  harmonize  with  every  other  part. 

1.  Now,  if  there  be  a  principle  in  Scripture  to  be  relied 
on,  surely  it  is  this,  that  the  divine  injunction  of  any  relative 
duty  implies  a  promise  of  the  divine  assistance  requisite  to 
its  performance,  and  of  success  proportioned  to  the  degree  in 
which  we  avail  ourselves  of  that  assistance.  In  illustration 
of  this  position,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  quote  the  familiar  pas- 
sage, "  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go ;  and  when 
he  is  old,  he  will  not  depart  from  it."  Nor  does  this  lan- 
guage, or  the  large  class  of  Scriptures  to  which  it  belongs, 
imply  any  thing  more  than  that  the  moral  department  of  the 
divine  government  is  conducted  on  a  plan  equally  with  the 
natural  or  physical ;  that  in  the  world  of  mind,  as  well  as  of 
matter,  certain  causes  produce  certain  effects.     The  effects, 


120  CHRISTIAN   INSTRUMENTALITY 

indeed,  may  not  result  precisely  in  accordance  with  human 
calculations.  As  in  the  ministry  of  Christ,  they  may  be  long 
delayed,  and  even  apparently  be  made  frustrate.  But  though 
"  he  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men,"  the  same  chapter 
which  foretold  his  rejection,  adds,  "  He  shall  see  of  the  travail 
of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied;"  and  every  subsequent 
age  has  witnessed  its  gradual  fulfilment.  This  constancy  of 
connection,  indeed,  between  means  and  ends  —  between 
causes  and  effects  —  seems  essential  to  the  character  of  a 
wise  and  gracious  government,  as  well  as  to  furnish  some  of 
the  motives  necessary  to  obedience ;  especially,  too,  as  it  still 
reserves  to  its  Divine  Sovereign  the  right  of  exceeding  his 
promises  in  whatever  way  he  pleases. 

But,  according  to  the  views  of  many  of  those  of  whom  we 
are  speaking,  here  is  a  grand  exception  to  the  uniformity  of 
the  divine  procedure.  Yes,  in  the  very  last  act,  the  closing 
scene  of  the  great  drama  of  Providence,  —  where,  if  apparent 
irregularity  had  previously  obtained,  we  should  rather  have 
looked  for  the  explanation  and  coincidence  of  the  whole,  — 
even  here,  forsooth,  the  universe  is  to  witness  the  disruption 
of  a  principle  which  had  previously  maintained  the  stability 
of  a  rock  ;  a  great  gulf  is  to  open  and  yawn  between  means 
and  ends.  For  though  the  commands  of  God  had  pointed 
to  a  particular  issue,  —  the  conversion  of  the  world ;  and 
though  the  hopes  and  endeavors  of  his  people  had,  in  de- 
pendence on  his  gracious  aid,  travelled  in  the  same  direction, 
it  is  then  to  appear  that  they  had  never  tended  to  realize  it, 
and  that  a  stupendous  miracle  alone  can  prevent  the  dreadful 
result.  Thus  the  prophecies  of  Scripture  are  made  to  clash 
with  its  commands. 

2.  Equally  at  variance  does  such  an  interpretation  appear 
with  the  unimpeachable  sincerity  of  the  divine  character. 
The  substance  of  all  the  relative  commands  which  God  has 
enjoined  is  this,  "  Evangelize  the  world ;  "  and  the  substance 
of  all  his  promises  corresponds  with  it,  —  "  The  world  shall 
be  evangelized."  In  obedience  to  this  command,  and  ani- 
mated by  this  promise,  his  church  is  beginning  to  address 
itself  more  seriously  than  ever  to  its  great  vocation.  But 
while  it  is  allowed  that  the  command  which  enjoins  this  duty, 
and  the  promise  which  inspires  this  hope,  stand  out  so  clearly 
on  the  sacred  page  that  he  who  runs  may  read,  it  is  con- 
tended by  the  party  in  question  that  a  third  class  of  Sacred 
Scripture  comes  to  light ;  more  occult,  it  may  be,  in  mean- 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   PROPHECY.  121 

ing,  and  requiring  very  prolonged  and  careful  consideration  ; 
but  the  practical  result  of  which  is,  that  obedience  to  the 
command  will  prove  all  but  fruitless  for  the  end  proposed, 
and  that  the  hope  of  personal  success  inspired  by  the  promise 
is  almost  entirely  unfounded.  As  if  a  king  should  forward 
to  the  commander  of  his  forces  positive  orders  to  engage  the 
foe,  accompanied  with  assurances  of  certain  triumph,  but 
should  interline  the  despatches  with  a  secret  writing  in 
cipher,  which  required  to  be  held  to  the  fire  and  laboriously 
studied  in  order  to  be  understood,  and  the  inference  to  be 
drawn  from  which  was,  that  the  campaign  would  end  in  all 
but  entire  defeat,  and  that  the  victory  promised  would  ensue 
in  a  manner  quite  irrespective  of  his  conflicts.  Such  a  com- 
munication would  throw  at  least  a  deep  shade  on  the  sincer- 
ity of  him  who  sent  it. 

3.  Nor  does  such  an  interpretation  seem  less  to  impugn 
the  benignity  of  the  divine  character.  Instead  of  taking  it 
for  granted  that  we  should  be  enamored  of  duty  for  its  own 
sake  alone,  he  evinces  the  kindest  consideration  for  our  fallen 
condition  by  accompanying  his  commands  with  appropriate 
promises  and  blessings;  graciously  alluring  us  to  cultivate 
the  tree  by  engaging  that  its  fruits  shall  be  our  own.  The 
Savior  himself  was  not  called  to  suffer  without  enjoying  the 
sustaining  prospect  of  its  glorious  results.  On  the  lofty  moral 
elevation  of  the  cross,  the  triumphs  of  his  gospel,  through  all 
the  ages  of  time,  passed  in  review  before  him ;  and  "  for  the 
joy  which  was  thus  set  before  him,  he  endured  the  cross, 
despising  the  shame." 

But  on  the  hypothesis  in  question  his  followers  are  required 
to  labor  and  suffer,  not  only  without  the  hope  of  consequent 
usefulness,  but  even  in  the  clear  foresight  of  comparative 
failure.  Now  to  expect  that  we  should  be  as  active  in  our 
efforts  to  evangelize  the  world  in  the  face  of  this  foreseen 
defeat  as  we  should  be  in  the  prospect  of  success,  is,  to  say 
the  least,  at  variance  with  that  benignity  by  which  we  are 
accustomed  to  regard  the  divine  requirements  as  ordinarily 
distinguished. 

4.  It  may  properly  be  objected,  also,  that  the  hypothesis 
which  makes  prophecy  disclose  the  comparative  failure  of  a 
course  of  conduct  which  the  command  of  God  has  yet  made 
obligatory,  is  at  variance  with  that  wise  reserve  of  Scripture 
concerning  such  events  of  the  future  as  involve  the  freedom 
of  human  action.     While  some  of  the  prophecies  predictive 


122  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

of  happy  results  are  so  constructed  as  to  encourage  the  obe- 
dience of  those  whom  they  chiefly  concern,  and  others  pre- 
dictive of  evil  are  calculated  to  produce  repentance,  and 
while  they  thus  denote  the  benignity  of  their  Author,  by  fur- 
nishing motives  to  holiness,  there  is  none  which,  if  rightly 
interpreted,  can  be  regarded  as  furnishing  a  single  motive 
of  a  contrary  nature.  But  according  to  the  views  we  are 
opposing,  here  is  a  large  class  of  prophecies  the  tendency  of 
which  is  to  dishearten  obedience  by  depriving  it  prospectively 
of  its  appropriate  results;  thus  interfering  with  that  proba- 
tionary freedom  of  action  which  a  concealment  of  the  future 
would  have  left  undisturbed. 

5.  Besides  which,  the  views  in  question  appear  highly 
derogatory  to  the  present  economy  as  the  dispensation  of  the 
Spirit,  and  to  the  ordinance  of  preaching  as  the  medium  of 
his  operation.  "  Glorious  things  are  spoken  "  in  prophecy  of 
the  results  which  should  signalize  the  impartation  of  the 
Spirit.  If  Isaiah,  for  instance,  be  asked  how  long  the  spirit- 
ual desolation  of  his  people,  as  at  present  exhibited,  will  con- 
tinue, he  replies,*  "  Until  the  Spirit  be  poured  upon  us  from 
on  high ;  then  shall  the  wilderness  be  a  fruitful  field,  and  the 
fruitful  field  be  esteemed  a  forest."  If  we  inquire  of  the 
Lord,  at  the  hand  of  Ezekiel,  by  what  agency  the  Jews  are  to 
be  finally  converted,  and  made  eminent  in  the  earth,  the 
reply  is  substantially  the  same;  t  "  Neither  will  I  hide  my  face 
any  more  from  them  ;  for  I  have  poured  out  my  Spirit  upon 
the  house  of  Israel,  saith  the  Lord  God."  In  the  prophecy 
of  Joel  the  promise  of  the  Spirit  takes  a  still  wider  range ; 
"  For  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  saith  God,  I  will 
pour  out  of  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh."  |  Gentiles  as  well  as 
Jews  are  included  in  its  comprehensive  embrace ;  for,  says  the 
apostle  Paul,  when  quoting  a  part  of  the  prediction,^  "  There 
is  no  difference  between  the  Jew  and  the  Greek ;  for  the  same 
Lord  over  all  is  rich  unto  all  that  call  upon  him.  For  whoso- 
ever shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved." 

Here,  then,  is  a  series  of  predictions  importing  that  during 
the  last  days  ||  spiritual  transformations  of  the  most  glorious 

*  Chap,  xxxii.  15 ;  see  also  Zech.  iv.  6. 
t  Chap,  xxxix.  29. 
t  Chap.  ii.  28,  as  quoted  Acts  ii.  17. 
§  Rom.  x.  12,  13. 

||  The  phrase  &Wtl  Fl^a,  LXX  lv  ralg  iaXaraiq  Ijuiqaig, 
originally  and  properly  denoted  future  times.     But  as  the  coming  of 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   PROPHECY.  123 

and  comprehensive  nature  shall  result  from  the  impartation  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  From  the  day  of  Pentecost  down  to  the 
present,  the  Spirit  has  effected  these  transformations  chiefly 
through  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  Even  on  that  memorable 
day,  the  "  signs  and  wonders  "  which  attended  his  effusion  only 
prepared  the  way  for  the  pungent  address  of  the  apostle  Peter. 
It  was  "when  they  heard  this,"  that  the  arrows  of  the  Lord 
took  effect  in  three  thousand  hearts.  Miraculous  phenomena 
may  be  employed  to  engage  the  requisite  attention  for  a  mes- 
senger from  God,  and  adequately  to  attest  the  divinity  of  his 
message,  and  may  even  disarm  unbelief,  and  enlist  the  judg- 
ment on  the  side  of  the  truth ;  but  when  the  heart  is  to  be 
pierced  and  subdued,  the  "message"  itself  is  "  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit."  Whence  we  may  infer  that  in  all  subsequent 
times,  whatever  miraculous  means  may  be  subordinately  em- 
ployed, his  renewing  influence  will  be  exerted  principally 
through  the  same  instrumentality.  And  as  the  church  has 
not  yet  witnessed  any  thing  answering  to  the  fulfilment  of 
these  predictions,  as  an  untouched  ocean  of  spiritual  influ- 
ence is  yet  contained  in  them,  we  are  to  conclude  that,  great 
as  the  triumphs  of  the  gospel  at  times  have  been  already,  a 
period  is  impending  when  we  shall  see  far  greater  things  than 
these.  So  that  any  views  which  cast  but  a  passing  shade  on 
that  happy  prospect,  or  which  transfer  the  honor  of  effecting 
them  to  any  other  department  of  the  divine  government,  must 
be  regarded  as  disparaging  to  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit, 
and  to  the  divine  appointment  of  the  diffusion  of  the  gospel  as 
the  medium  of  his  influence. 

II.  But  instead  of  multiplying  objections  to  a  view  which 
may  prove  on  investigation  to  have  no  foundation  in  Scrip- 
ture, let  us,  secondly,  inquire  whether  it  can  produce  any 
direct  warrant  from  the  word  of  God. 

In  applying  the  predictions  of  the  Old  Testament  to  the 
present  economy,  our  first  care  should  be  to  select  those  only 
which  cannot  possibly  have  found  their  accomplishment  in 
the  restoration  of  the  Jews  from  the  Babylonish  captivity. 

Now,  confining  our  attention  to  a  few  of  such  only,  we  find 

the  Messiah  was,  for  the  Jew,  the  most  glorious  event  in  all  the  fu- 
ture, the  phrase  came  to  be  appropriated  to  the  period  of  his  advent 
and  reign.  Accordingly,  in  the  New  Testament,  for  example,  in 
Acts  ii.  17,  Heb.  i.  2,  1  Pet.  i.  20,  it  is  employed  to  denote  the  times 
ever  since  the  first  coming  of  Christ. 


124  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

that  the  predictions  relative  to  the  enlargement  of  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  may  be  arranged  in  reference  to  the  question  before 
us,  i.  e.  as  to  the  means  of  that  enlargement,  into  five  classes. 

1.  The  first  class  consists  of  those  predictions  which  simply 
announce  the  final  evangelization  of  the  earth ;  such  are  Ps. 
xxii.  27,  Hab.  ii.  14,  and  Mai.  i.  11.  But  as  this  class  is 
silent,  except  by  inference,  concerning  both  the  agent  and 
means  by  which  the  end  predicted  will  be  attained,  they  leave 
us  to  pursue  our  inquiry  in  other  quarters. 

2.  A  second  class  describes  the  agent,  but  is  silent  con- 
cerning the  means.  Looking  forward  to  the  final  union  of 
Israel  and  Judah,  the  Almighty  promises,  "  Moreover,  I  will 
make  a  covenant  of  peace  with  them ;  it  shall  be  an  ever- 
lasting covenant  with  them;  and  I  will  place  them  and  mul- 
tiply them,  and  will  set  my  sanctuary  in  the  midst  of 
them  forevermore.  My  tabernacle  also  shall  be  with  them  : 
yea,  I  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people."  * 
Here,  the  hand  engaged  is  divine,  while  the  means  to  be  em- 
ployed are  apparently  omitted.  But  even  supposing  that  the 
nature  of  those  means  could  in  no  instance  be  inferred  from 
a  consideration  of  the  context,  we  should  be  as  much  war- 
ranted in  concluding  that  the  changes  predicted  would  be 
accomplished  by  human  instrumentality,  as  any  other  party 
would  be  in  advocating  a  purely  miraculous  fulfilment. 
Spiritual  transformations  are  in  Scripture  ascribed  to  God 
when  they  are  effected  by  such  means,  as  directly  as  if 
they  were  effected  without  them ;  and  for  this  simple  rea- 
son, that  the  efficient  cause  of  the  change  is  exclusively 
divine.  "  So  then  neither  is  he  that  planteth  any  thing, 
neither  he  that  watereth ;  but  God  that  giveth  the  increase." 
Still,  then,  we  are  left  to  look  farther  for  a  description  of  the 
means  by  which  the  world  is  to  be  planted  and  watered  for 
the  divine  "  increase." 

3.  Now  the  millenarian  supposes  that  he  has  found  these 
in  a  third  class  of  Sacred  Scriptures,  which  foretells  a  series 
of  judgments  and  preternatural  events,  to  be  followed  by  per- 
manent and  universal  blessedness.  The  existence  of  such  a 
class  we  not  only  readily,  but  joyfully,  admit.  But  here  it  is 
obvious  to  remark  that  such  providential  occurrences  have  no 
moral  adaptation  whatever,  to  renovate  the  minds  of  men  ; 
"  for,  if  they  believe  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  will 
they  believe,  though  one  rose  from  the  dead."     All  that  such 

*  Ezek.  xxx vii.  26,  27. 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   PROPHECY.  125 

dispensations  are  appointed  to  effect  is,  as  we  have  already 
remarked,  to  prepare  the  way,  under  the  overruling  guidance 
of  God,  for  the  wider  diffusion  of  the  gospel.  When  the 
river  of  living  water,  deepening  and  widening  in  its  onward 
course,  has  reached  some  Alps  or  Andes,  which  threaten  to 
arrest  forever  its  healing  progress,  Omnipotence  will  then 
say  to  the  mountainous  obstacle,  "  Be  thou  removed,  and  be 
thou  cast  into  the  sea,"  and  onward  the  tide  of  life  shall  flow. 
So  that  the  most  stupendous  events  of  Providence  must  be 
regarded,  even  when  they  are  charged  with  the  greatest 
results,  as  only  secondary  and  subordinate  to  the  spiritual 
influences  of  the  truth. 

Allowing,  then,  for  the  sake  of  the  argument,  that  all  the 
momentous  events  which  are  supposed  by  many  to  be  now 
impending,  are  actually  at  hand,  —  surely  they  are  not  to  be 
spoken  of  by  the  Christian  in  terms  of  gloom  and  depreca- 
tion. If  they  are  to  "  turn  out  rather  to  the  furtherance  of 
the  gospel,"  we  ought  to  hail  them  with  welcome,  and  the 
church  with  congratulations.  Let  us  not  be  told,  for  instance, 
with  looks  of  solicitude,  that  the  honor  of  converting  the 
world  is  not  designed  for  us,  but  is  reserved  for  the  restored 
and  enlightened  Jews.  Even  admitting  that  it  is  so,  it  is 
enough  for  us  to  know  that  success  is  not,  meanwhile,  with- 
held from  Gentile  Christians  ;  but  that  our  usefulness  is  in  the 
full  proportion  of  our  endeavors ;  and  that  we  have  scriptural 
reason  to  believe  it  will  continue  to  be  so.  And  if,  besides 
this  cheering  fact,  we  can  be  certified  that,  great  as  our  suc- 
cess is,  the  spiritual  triumphs  of  a  coming  day,  and  of  an- 
other people,  will  be  incomparably  greater,  we  "  therein  do 
rejoice,  yea,  and  will  rejoice."  Could  we  now  be  assured 
that  in  India,  for  example,  "  a  nation  had  been  born  in  a 
day  ; "  that  great  numbers  of  its  converts  were  going  "  every 
where,  preaching  the  word ; "  and  that  wherever  they 
preached,  more  than  the  triumphs  of  apostolic  days  were  the 
result,  would  not  our  "joy  be  as  the  joy  of  harvest  "?  and  if 
ever  the  period  should  come  when  a  similar  report  shall  be 
true  of  the  Jewish  people,  will  our  transports  be  less? 
"  Would  to  God  that  all  the  Lord's  people  were  prophets  !  " 
and  would  to  God  that  they  were  so  at  once !  "  For  in 
Christ  Jesus  there  is  neither  Greek  nor  Jew."  The  joy  of 
one  would  be  the  joy  of  all. 

But,  says  the  millenarian,  the  period  of  which  you  speak 
will  be  introduced  by  appalling  judgments.  And  in  what  age 
11  * 


126  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

of  the  world,  we  ask,  was  the  progress  of  religion  ever  unat- 
tended by  such  visitations?  Were  the  ancient  Israelites 
restored  from  their  Chaldean  exile,  and  the  temple  rebuilt, 
without  changing  the  fortunes  of  the  political  world  ?  Did 
the  unity  of  the  Roman  empire,  at  the  commencement  of 
Christianity,  provide  for  the  easier  circulation  of  the  gospel 
through  the  civilized  world  ?  But  how  many  a  fair  and  pop- 
ulous province  was  subjugated  in  order  to  that  unity !  Did 
God  design  to  bring  the  uncivilized  world,  soon  after,  under 
the  influence  of  the  gospel  ?  The  end  was  gained  by  the 
northern  invasion,  and  the  consequent  breaking  up  of  the 
Roman  empire.  And  be  it  remembered,  that  these  are 
events  which,  though  described  by  us  with  a  stroke  of  the 
pen,  filled  the  eye  of  the  prophet  with  a  vision  of  broken 
thrones,  and  his  ear  with  the  shriek  of  expiring  nations  ; 
events  which,  when  they  occurred,  threw  the  earth  into 
political  convulsions,  and  the  history  of  which  might  be  easily 
expanded  into  blood-stained  volumes.  Nor  have  the  last  fifty 
years  fallen  short,  in  eventful  interest,  of  any  equal  period, 
perhaps,  since  time  began. 

In  the  sacred  calendar  of  prophecy  we  may  suppose  these 
years  to  have  been  marked  with  peculiar  signs.  Europe  — 
the  world  —  has  been  in  a  state  of  volcanic  activity.  Yet 
stand  with  Daniel  on  the  bank  of  the  River  Ulai,  and  you  will 
see  that  all  these  events  belong  to  a  series  which  know  no 
pause.  Stand  with  the  seer  of  the  Apocalypse  "  in  the  isle 
which  is  called  Patmos,"  and  you  will  see  that,  from  the  very 
first  age  of  Christianity,  seal  after  seal  has  been  opened  ; 
trumpet  after  trumpet  sounded ;  and  vial  after  vial  poured  out 
without  intermission ;  that  if  there  has  been  "  silence  in 
heaven  about  the  space  of  half  an  hour,"  it  has  been  only 
the  profound  silence  which  precedes  the  bursting  of  a  scene 
of  stupendous  interest.  Speak  not,  then,  as  if  the  Almighty 
were  about  to  clothe  himself  with  judgment,  and  to  arise  out 
of  his  place  now,  for  the  first  time.  The  solemn  events 
which  are  yet  to  transpire  belong  to  a  series  which  began  in 
Eden.  Like  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  of  fire,  they  only  indi- 
cate the  continued  presence  of  Him  who,  having  accom- 
panied the  march  of  his  cause  through  all  the  ages  of  past 
time,  is  graciously  pledged  to  vindicate,  sustain,  and  facilitate 
its  progress  through  all  the  future ;  and  who  thus  furnishes 
his  people  with  motives  to  increased  activity,  and  inspires 
them  with  the  hope  of  success. 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   PROPHECY.  127 

But,  says  the  millenarian,  the  events  which  impend  are 
charged  with  unexampled  judgments ;  they  contain  the  very 
dregs  of  the  vials  of  wrath.  Still,  we  reply,  they  are  only 
events  which  harmonize  with  the  progress  of  the  gospel  and 
the  wants  of  the  world ;  and  which  show  that  providence  and 
grace  are  but  two  departments  of  the  same  universal  govern- 
ment. For  in  what  are  these  judgments  to  consist?  In  the 
subversion  of  the  Mahometan  empire  ?  in  the  destruction  of 
the  man  of  sin  ?  in  the  overthrow  of  Antichrist,  Mahometan, 
Papal,  and  Infidel?  in  the  purgation  of  Christendom?  And 
is  this  a  consummation  which  the  Christian  should  dread  ?  Is 
this  a  prospect  which  should  paralyze  our  activity,  or  depress 
our  expectations  of  usefulness?  Has  the  empire  of  impos- 
ture been  so  innoxious  in  its  influence  that  we  shall  be  tender 
of  its  termination?  Has  the  mystic  Babylon  been  so  sparing 
of  the  blood  of  the  saints,  and  so  true  to  the  interests  of  the 
church,  that  we  should  deprecate  the  descent  of  the  angel 
who  is  to  "  lighten  the  earth  with  his  glory,"  while  he  cries 
"  mightily  with  a  loud  voice,  Babylon  the  great  is  fallen,  is 
fallen  "  ?  Is  the  pouring  out  of  the  seventh  vial  on  the  air, 
the  seat  of  Satan's  empire,  a  prospect  to  fill  us  with  appre- 
hension ?  True,  the  accomplishment  of  these  events  may 
ask  a  larger  theatre,  and  the  arm  of  Providence  may  take  a 
wider  sweep,  than  has  hitherto  been  deemed  requisite.  For 
who  can  expect  that  forms  of  evil,  nursed  in  conflict,  and 
which  have  attained  the  growth  of  centuries,  will  yield  the 
final  contest,  and  retire  to  the  pit  whence  they  issued,  with- 
out a  struggle  ?  and  what  if  that  contest  should  enlist,  on 
one  side  or  the  other,  the  ardent  sympathies  of  all  creation  ? 
if  the  earth  should  be  cleared  of  every  minor  interest  till  this 
is  decided  —  what  if  the  battle  of  Armageddon  be  fought  ? 
What  should  it  show  but  that  the  world  was  at  length  com- 
pletely aroused  from  that  moral  torpor  in  which  it  has  ever 
slumbered,  and  to  awake  it  from  which  had  often  been  the 
earnest  endeavor  of  the  church  ?  and  what  if,  on  the  eve  of 
that  conflict,  the  armies  of  the  living  God  should  find  that 
He,  on  whose  "  head  are  many  crowns,"  who  "  hath  on  his 
vesture  and  on  his  thigh  a  name  written,  King  of  kings  and 
Lord  of  lords,"  had  led  forth  the  armies  of  heaven,  "  on 
white  horses,  clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and  clean,"  and 
that  they  were  actually  mingling  with  their  martial  ranks, 
and  already  shouting  of  victory?  what  could  be  the  issue, 
but  glorious  triumph?     What,  but  an  ample  godlike  answer 


128  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

to  the  prayers  of  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  saints  —  to 
the  cries  and  throes  of  the  whole  creation,  till  then  groaning 
and  travailing  in  pain  together  ?  And  is  this  a  prospect  to  be 
spoken  of  in  terms  of  gloom  and  sadness  1  Ask  we  how 
Heaven  regards  it?  The  vision  has  for  ages  filled  it  with 
Alleluias  —  "and  the  four-and-twenty  elders,"  saith  John, 
"  and  the  four  living  creatures,  fell  down,  and  worshipped  God, 
that  sat  upon  the  throne,  saying,  Amen ;  Alleluia.  And  a 
voice  came  out  of  the  throne,  saying,  Praise  our  God,  all  ye 
his  servants,  and  ye  that  fear  him,  both  small  and  great.  And 
I  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude,  and  as  the 
voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty  thunder- 
ings,  saying,  Alleluia;  for  the  Lord  God  Omnipotent  reign- 
eth."  *       • 

III.  Still,  the  millenarian  may  add,  Does  not  the  very  ne- 
cessity for  such  a  conflict,  together  with  the  character  of  the 
parties,  and  the  numbers  who  will  join  in  it,  indicate  that  the 
previous  diffusion  of  the  gospel  will  have  proved,  in  its  spir- 
itual results,  a  comparative  failure?  This,  we  are  aware,  is 
your  inference.  But  against  such  a  conclusion,  we  propose 
to  adduce  a  fourth  class  of  Sacred  Scriptures  which  clearly 
predicts  that  the  diffusion  of  the  Word  of  God  shall  be  at- 
tended with  the  most  glorious  results. 

4.  And  here  we  might  first  refer  to  certain  prophecies 
which  foretell  that  even  during  an  era  of  great  judgments  — 
in  one  of  the  very  crises  of  the  world's  tribulations — the 
evangelization  and  salvation  of  mankind,  so  far  from  being 
arrested,  shall  proceed  and  triumph.  "  For  when  thy  judg- 
ments are  in  the  earth,"  saith  the  prophet  Isaiah, "  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  world  will  learn  righteousness  ;  "  —  thy  heaviest 
inflictions  will  subserve  thy  purposes  of  mercy  in  the  salvation 
of  mankind. 

But  let  us  rather  direct  our  attention  to  a  small  selection 
of  those  prophecies  which  describe  the  future  enlargement  of 
the  church  as  the  result  of  Christian  teaching. 

"  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  that  the  moun- 
tain of  Jehovah's  house  shall  be  established  in  the  top  [or,  as 
the  chief]  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be  exalted  above  the 
hills ;  and  all  the  nations  shall  flow  unto  it.  Yea,  many  peo- 
ple shall  go  and  say,  Come,  and  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain 

*  Rev.  xix.  4 — 6. 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   PROPHECY.  129 

of  Jehovah,  to  the  house  of  the  God  of  Jacob ;  that  he  may 
teach  us  his  ways,  and  that  we  may  walk  in  his  paths.  For 
out  of  Zion  shall  go  forth  the  law,  and  the  word  of  Jehovah 
from  Jerusalem.  And  he  shall  arbitrate  between  the  nations, 
and  dispense  justice  to  many  people ;  so  that  they  shall  beat 
their  swords  into  ploughshares,  and  their  spears  into  pruning- 
knives  :  nation  shall  not  lift  up  the  sword  against  nation, 
neither  shall  they  learn  war  any  more."  *  Here  the  church  is 
represented  as  being  central  and  accessible  to  the  entire  race, 
and  as  capable  of  receiving  and  accommodating  a  worshipping 
world  as  the  temple  on  Zion  had  been  to  the  tribes  of  Israel. 
And  the  points  to  be  particularly  remarked  are,  that,  of  the 
nations  thronging  to  it,  the  great  mass  has  been  influenced  by 
the  exhortation,  "  Come,  and  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of 
Jehovah  ;  "  and  that  the  reason  which  moves  the  world  towards 
this  central  point  is,  that  "  out  of  Zion  shall  go  forth  the  law, 
and  the  word  of  Jehovah  from  Jerusalem  "  —  that  through  the 
appointed  instrumentality  of  the  gospel,  they  hope  to  be  made 
wise  unto  salvation ;  while  the  result  of  that  divine  teaching 
upon  the  great  society  of  the  nations  is  to  be,  the  utter  aboli- 
tion of  war,  the  cultivation  of  the  arts  of  peace,  and  the 
recognition  of  the  divine  authority  as  universal  and  supreme. 

On  another  occasion,  f  the  prophet,  having  described  the 
peace  and  happiness  to  be  enjoyed  under  the  reign  of  Mes- 
siah, in  a  strain  surpassing  the  sublimest  notes  in  which  the 
classical  poets  celebrate  the  return  to  the  golden  age,  adds, 
in  explanation  of  the  glorious  change,  "  For  the  earth  shall 
be  full  of  the  knowledge  J  of  Jehovah,  as  the  waters  cover 
the  sea."  The  universal  diffusion  of  that  knowledge  which 
"  is  life  eternal,"  is  assigned  as  the  cause  of  the  happy  trans- 
formation. 

Now,  if  to  these  bright  anticipations  it  should  be  objected, 
that  they  will  not  be  realized  till  after  the  calling  and  conver- 
sion of  the  Jews,  and  by  their  instrumentality,  we  might  con- 
tent ourselves  with  replying,  that  the  question  pending  relates 
not  to  the  specific  personal  agency  by  which  these  prophe- 


*  Isaiah  ii.  2 — 4.  This  passage,  with  slight  verbal  differences,  is 
found  also  in  Micah  iv.  1 — 3. 

t  Chap.  xi.  9. 

$  rn!"P~l7ifc}!  {Tin  a  verbal  noun,  construed  as  an  infinitive  ;  and,  as 
such,  denoting  the  mind  as  the  seat  of  the  knowledge,  and  the  activ- 
ity of  the  mind  in  relation  to  it. 


130  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

cies  will  be  fulfilled,  (though  even  granting  that  the  honor  is 
reserved  for  the  Jewish  nation,  the  objector  should  remember 
that,  according  to  his  own  supposition,  the  Jew  will  then  have 
become  a  Christian,  and  his  people  an  integral  portion  of  the 
Christian  church,)  but  to  the  kind  of  instrumentality  by 
which  the  world  is  to  be  evangelized.  We  will,  however, 
proceed  to  show  that  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  is  to  be 
made  conducive  to  the  conversion  of  the  Jews  themselves. 
"In  that  day,"  saith  God,  "  will  I  raise  up  the  tabernacle  of 
David  that  is  fallen,  and  repair  the  breaches  thereof;  and  I 
will  raise  up  its  ruins,  and  I  will  build  it  as  in  the  days  of 
old ;  that  they  may  possess  the  remnant  of  Edom,  and  of  all 
the  heathen  upon  whom  my  name  is  called,  saith  the  Lord 
that  doeth  this."  *  Now  that  this  prediction  relates  partly  to 
the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  we  have  the  authority  of  St. 
James,  (Acts  xv.  15  — 17  :)  "  And  to  this  agree  the  words  of 
the  prophets;  as  it  is  written,"  t  —  and  forthwith  proceeds 
to  quote  this  prophecy  from  Amos;  evidently  taking  it  for 
granted  that  the  ministry  of  the  gospel  would  be  the  means 
employed  by  God  for  rebuilding  the  promised  tabernacle 
—  for  that  ministry  was  the  only  instrumentality  which 
had  then  been  appointed  and  employed  for  the  purpose  J  — 
and  only  cites  the  prophecy  to  show  that  it  was  clearly  the 
divine  design  that  the  Gentiles  thus  converted  should  be  in- 
corporated in  the  same  church  with  the  Jews. 

That  the  vision  of  the  valley  of  dry  bones  relates  ultimately 
to  times  yet  future,  may  be  seen  by  a  glance  either  at  the 
context  preceding  or  following.  §  And  it  can  hardly  be 
necessary  to  show  how  strongly  confirmatory  that  vision  is  of 
the  point  before  us.  When  the  prophet  had  surveyed  the 
dreary  Golgotha,  and  beheld,  in  the  withered  fragments  of 
mortality  with  which  it  was  filled,  what  was,  and  what  would 
be,  the  hopeless  condition  of  his  people,  he  was  commanded 
to  prophesy  upon  these  dry  bones,  and  to  say  unto  them,  "  O 
ye  dry  bones,  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord."  And  having  de- 
livered to  them  that  word,  consisting  of  a  promise  of  life  and 

*  Amos  ix.  11,  12. 

t  The  quotation  is  not  made  literally  either  from  the  Hebrew  or 
from  the  Septuagint,  which  also  differs  from  the  Hebrew,  though 
only  in  letters  of  similar  form.  But  this  slight  difference  in  no  re- 
spect affects  the  question  before  us. 

t  Acts  ii.  37  ;  xv.  7,  14. 

§  Ezek.  xxxvi.  24 — 28;  and  xxxvii.  14. 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   PROPHECY.  131 

salvation,  he  is  next  commanded  to  prophesy  to  the  wind,  and 
to  say,  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  Come  from  the  four 
winds,  O  breath,  and  breathe  upon  these  slain  that  they  may 
live."  In  other  words,  having  preached  to  the  politically  and 
spiritually  dead  the  glad  tidings  of  deliverance,  and  invoked 
on  them  the  vital  influence  of  the  Spirit,  a  moral  resurrection 
ensued,  which  filled  the  valley  with  life  and  activity.  It  fol- 
lows, then,  that  the  same  instrumentality  will  be  made  con- 
ducive to  the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  which  will  be  employed 
with  success  for  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles  —  the  ministry 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

Accordingly,  we  might  specify  predictions  which  contem- 
plate the  conversion  of  Jews  and  Gentiles  alike,  through  this 
ministry,  and  which  thus  unequivocally  foretell  the  coming 
salvation  of  the  world.  Such  is  the  prediction  to  which  we 
have  already  alluded  for  another  purpose  in  the  book  of  Amos. 
As  quoted  by  the  apostle  James,  (Acts  xv.  16  and  17,)  it  evi- 
dently imports  that  the  tabernacle  of  David  is  to  be  rebuilt 
expressly,  "that  the  residue  of  men  might  seek  the  Lord." 
By  the  tabernacle  of  David  can  only  be  intended  the  Chris- 
tian church ;  for  what  other  tabernacle  had  then  begun  to  be 
reared  ?  and  yet  the  apostle  speaks  of  the  fact  stated  by  Peter 
that  "  some  time  before  God  had  chosen  "  him  as  the  instru- 
ment by  whose  "  mouth  the  Gentiles  should  hear  the  word  of 
the  gospel  and  believe,"  as  a  convincing  proof  that  the  prom- 
ised rebuilding  of  the  spiritual  fabric  was  commenced.  And 
this  church,  he  adds,  is  evidently  instituted  for  the  reception 
and  salvation  both  of  Jews  and  Gentiles.  But  in  what  con- 
ceivable manner  can  the  church  of  Christ  answer  this  high 
design,  if  not  by  the  continued  diffusion  of  the  same  blessed 
gospel  to  Jews  and  Gentiles  alike? 

Such,  too,  is  the  tenor  of  the  new  covenant :  ( Jer.  xxxii. 
31 — 34  :)  "  Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will 
make  a  new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel,  and  with  the 
house  of  Judah;  not  according  to  the  covenant  that  I  made 
with  their  fathers  in  the  day  that  I  took  them  by  the  hand  to 
bring  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt ;  which  my  covenant 
they  brake,  although  I  was  a  husband  unto  them,  saith  the 
Lord.  But  this  shall  be  the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with 
the  house  of  Israel ;  after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will 
put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts,  and  write  it  in  their  hearts, 
and  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people ;  and  they 
shall  teach  no  more  every  man  his  neighbor,  and  every  man 


132  CHRISTIAN   INSTRUMENTALITY 

his  brother,  saying,  Know  the  Lord  ;  for  they  shall  all  know 
me  from  the  least  of  them  unto  the  greatest  of  them,  saith  the 
Lord ;  for  I  will  forgive  their  iniquity,  and  I  will  remember 
their  sin  no  more."  On  the  authority  of  the  apostle  Paul, 
(Heb.  viii.  8 — 13,)  we  learn  that  this  new  covenant  is  the 
dispensation  of  the  gospel.  The  houses  of  Israel  and  Judah, 
therefore,  to  whom  this  dispensation  is  sent,  cannot  be  sup- 
posed to  be  literally  and  exclusively  the  lineal  descendants  of 
Abraham,  but  his  spiritual  offspring  ;  for  it  is  the  peculiar 
glory  of  the  gospel  that,  in  contradistinction  from  the  national 
and  limited  economy  of  the  Jews,  it  bears  an  aspect  of  be- 
nignity equally  to  all  mankind.  Nor  will  any  one  contend 
that  until  the  gospel  is  known  universally,  it  will  ever  cease 
to  be  the  duty  of  Christians  to  say  to  all  around  them,  "  Know 
the  Lord ; "  or  that  we  have  any  reason  to  expect  that  the 
Bible  will  ever  be  superseded  by  a  miraculous  dispensation 
which  shall  flash  divine  illumination  on  the  mind,  and  thus 
raise  mankind  above  the  use  of  means.  The  import  of  the 
prediction  appears  to  be  simply  this,  that  when  the  reproach 
of  indolence  shall  have  been  wiped  away  from  the  church, 
and  every  man  shall  have  said  to  his  neighbor,  "  Know  the 
Lord,"  the  reproach  of  ignorance  shall  be  wiped  away  from 
the  world ;  for  the  Spirit  of  God  will  so  graciously  and  uni- 
versally bless  the  means  employed  as  to  render  their  contin- 
uance comparative!]/  unnecessary.  So  widely  will  the  church, 
aided  by  the  providential  interpositions  of  her  exalted  Lord, 
have  diffused  the  knowledge  of  salvation,  and  so  abundantly 
will  the  great  renewing  spirit  have  crowned  it  with  success, 
that  efforts  to  diffuse  it  farther  will  be  superseded  ;  "  for  I 
will  forgive  their  iniquity,  and  I  will  remember  their  sin  no 
more."  This  amnesty  from  Heaven  having  been  universal- 
ly preached  and  received,  "  the  earth  shall  be  filled  with 
the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  Jehovah,  as  the  waters  cover 
the  sea." 

5.  The  allusions  which  we  have  made  to  the  agency  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  remind  us  of 
another  class  of  predictions,  in  which  the  renovation  of  the 
world  is  ascribed  prospectively  to  his  transforming  influence. 
We  have  just  seen  that  the  new  covenant,  which  engages  to 
impart  the  saving  knowledge  of  God,  is  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
and  that,  consequently,  the  promise  knows  no  limitation  of 
place  or  people.  But,  on  comparing  this  prediction  with  a 
parallel  prophecy,  in  Ezek.  xxxvi.  25 — 27,  which  declares, 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   PROPHECY.  133 

"  Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be 
clean ;  and  I  will  put  my  Spirit  within  you,  and  cause  you  to 
walk  in  my  statutes,"  we  learn  that  the  agent  employed  to 
carry  into  effect  the  gracious  purposes  of  the  Christian  econ- 
omy is  the  Holy  Spirit.  If  the  house  of  Israel  is  to  experi- 
ence a  spiritual  resurrection,  it  is  because  the  Spirit,  whose 
emblem  is  the  wind,  will  descend  on  the  moral  Golgotha,  and 
replenish  it  with  spiritual  life.  If  the  wilderness  of  the  church 
is  to  be  a  fruitful  field,  and  the  fruitful  field  to  be  counted  for 
a  forest,  it  is  not  until  the  Spirit  be  poured  upon  us  from  on 
high.  If  the  world  is  to  be  convinced  of  sin,  the  Spirit  alone 
is  appointed  and  adequate  to  the  office.  But  the  only  medi- 
um through  which  he  operates  in  the  discharge  of  his  office 
is  that  of  the  truth ;  on  which  account  he  is  designated,  by 
Christ  himself,  "  the  Spirit  of  truth."  The  gospel  is  the 
only  weapon  he  employs  in  his  aggressions  on  the  territories 
of  darkness,  and  hence  it  is  called  "the  sword  of  the  Spirit." 
And  when,  by  the  successful  employment  of  that  instrument, 
he  shall  have  convinced  the  world  of  sin,  and  have  become 
the  great  animating  spirit  of  mankind,  that  which  he  has 
promised  to  write  on  the  general  heart  is,  the  "laws"  of 
God,  and  the  "  ways  "  in  which  he  will  cause  them  to  walk 
are,  in  his  "  statutes."  So  that,  when  at  length  he  shall  be 
poured  out  upon  all  flesh,  and  when,  as  the  one  soul  of  the 
whole,  he  shall  have  led  them  to  crown  the  Savior  "  Lord  of 
all,"  it  will  be  found  that  no  moral  conquest  has  ever  been 
achieved  but  by  the  agency  of  the  Spirit,  and  that  in  achiev- 
ing it,  no  weapon  has  ever  been  directly  employed  but  the 
gospel  —  that,  from  first  to  last,  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  was 
never  laid  aside. 

Now,  we  think  it  will  be  found  that  under  one  or  other  of 
these  five  classes,  every  prophecy  relative  to  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  on  earth  may  find  an  appropriate  place.  Whence  it 
appears  to  follow,  that,  though  its  progress  to  the  universality 
and  glory  which  await  it,  may  be  attended  by  a  series  of 
providential  judgments,  that  progress  will  be  made,  and  that 
ultimate  glory  attained,  by  the  diffusion  of  the  gospel  directed 
and  made  efficient  by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Let  us 
"  not,  then,  be  moved  away  from  the  hope  of  the  gospel," 
and  expect  that  judgments  and  providential  occurrences  are 
to  produce  effects  which  are  promised  only  to  the  diffusion 
of  the  word  of  God.  That  judgments  will  accompany  and 
pioneer  its  march  through  the  earth,  as  they  ever  have  done, 
12 


CHRISTIAN   INSTRUMENTALITY 

we  freely  admit.  But  they  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  forming 
an  order  of  means  distinct  from  the  gospel  economy,  and 
superior  to  it.  They  wait  on  its  steps.  So  vast  is  that  econ- 
omy in  its  sweep  and  design,  that  it  includes  and  appropri- 
ates every  kind  of  agency ;  presses  into  its  service,  as  we 
saw  in  the  preceding  chapter,  the  angel  of  wrath,  as  well  as 
employs  the  angel  of  mercy ;  and  lays  under  tribute  all  the 
revolutions  of  time,  and  all  the  dispensations  of  Providence. 
In  those  events,  then,  which  may  lead  others  to  say,  "  Lo, 
here  is  Christ;"  or,  "Lo,  there  is  Christ;"  and  which  may 
thus  distract  attention  from  present  duty,  and  awaken  hopes 
never  to  be  realized,  we  are  to  recognize  only  a  call  to 
greater  diligence,  and  to  remember  that  if  we  would  apply 
them  to  their  proper  purpose,  we  must  study  to  render  them 
subservient  to  the  diffusion  of  his  gospel. 

We  admit,  also,  that,  at  times,  the  progress  of  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  may  be  too  slow  for  our  impatience,  and  may  seem 
to  postpone  its  consummation  to  a  hopeless  distance.  But 
let  us  remember  that  he  can  afford  to  wait.  Had  he  any  oc- 
casion to  doubt  the  issue,  he  might  be  induced  at  times  to 
precipitate  the  end.  But  "  he  seeth  the  end  from  the  begin- 
ning "  —  sees  it  so  clearly,  and  awaits  it  so  confidently,  that  his 
patience  emphatically  announces  the  efficiency  of  his  gov- 
ernment. 

And  not  only  do  impending  judgments  call  for  the  dili- 
gence of  the  church,  and  proclaim  the  efficiency  of  the  di- 
vine administration,  —  they  indicate  also  the  surpassing  claims 
of  that  dispensation  on  whose  account  they  are  to  be  made 
to  impend.  Had  the  final  sufficiency  of  the  gospel  economy 
been  doubtful,  we  may  warrantably  suppose  that  many  of  the 
divine  disclosures  of  coming  terrors  would  have  been  gra- 
ciously withheld.  Their  unreserved  disclosure  is  a  certain 
pledge  of  its  constant  progress  and  eventual  triumph.  The 
eye  of  faith  can  only  behold,  in  the  awful  pomp  and  grandeur 
of  the  future,  the  indication  of  its  greatness  and  the  cele- 
bration of  its  triumphs. 

IV.  Now,  if  the  conclusion  to  which  we  have  come  be 
scriptural,  we  may  take  it  for  granted  that  it  will  bear  to  be 
subjected  to  certain  appropriate  tests ;  and  that  the  result  of 
such  an  ordeal  can  only  tend  to  illustrate  and  confirm  the  truth. 

1.  If  it  be  a  doctrine  of  prophecy,  that  the  diffusion  of 
the  gospel  is  to  be  the  grand  instrument  in  the  hand  of  God  for 


ILLUSTRATED    FROM    PROPHECY.  135 

the  conversion  of  the  world,  may  we  not  expect  that  other 
departments  of  Holy  Scripture  will  be  found  to  contain 
allusions  and  statements  corroborative  of  the  doctrine  1  May 
we  not  expect,  for  example,  that  the  apostles  have  left  on 
record  some  indications,  however  incidental,  that  they  inter- 
preted ancient  prophecy  in  the  manner  supposed  ?  Accord- 
ingly, we  find  that  such  indications  actually  exist.  The 
application  which  St.  James  makes  of  the  prophecy  of  Amos, 
to  which  attention  has  already  been  called,  is  precisely  on  this 
principle,  and  might  properly  be  regarded  as  supplying  the 
legitimate  key  to  all  those  figurative  predictions  of  the  gos- 
pel dispensation  which  employ  language  drawn  from  the  Jew- 
ish economy.  Had  Isaiah  predicted  that  Christ  should  "  be 
given  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles  ? "  "  Lo,  we  turn  to  the 
Gentiles,"  said  Paul  and  Barnabas,  "for  so  hath  the  Lord 
commanded  us,  saying,  I  have  set  thee  to  be  a  light  of  the 
Gentiles,  that  thou  shouldest  be  for  salvation  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth."  *  Whence  we  learn,  first,  that  they  inferred  the 
prophecy  was  to  be  fulfilled,  and  the  world  to  be  enlightened, 
by  the  publication  of  the  gospel,  for  this  was  the  only  instru- 
mentality they  employed.  And,  secondly,  that  so  coincident 
in  their  view  was  the  spirit  of  the  prophecy  with  the  spirit 
of  the  apostolic  commission,  that  they  regarded  the  predic- 
tion as  equivalent  in  meaning  to  a  divine  command  to  preach 
the  gospel. 

Had  the  prophet  Joel  announced  that  during  the  "  last 
days  whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall 
be  saved  ?  "  "  How  then  shall  they  call  upon  him  in  whom 
they  have  not  believed  1 "  inquires  the  apostle  Paul ;  t  "  and 
how  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard  ? 
and  how  shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher  ?  and  how  shall 
they  preach  except  they  be  sent  1 "  By  putting  the  necessity 
of  preaching  the  gospel  in  this  interrogatory  form,  he  would 
impress  us  in  the  most  emphatic  manner  that  there  is  no 
other  conceivable  instrumentality  by  which  the  Gentiles  can 
be  saved. 

And  had  "  the  voice  of  him  that  crieth  in  the  wilderness  " 
announced,  "  All  flesh  is  grass,  and  all  the  goodliness  thereof 
is  as  the  flower  of  the  field;  .  .  .  the  grass  withereth,  the 
flower  fadeth,  but  the  word  of  our  God  shall  stand  forever  "  ? 
"  This  is  the  word,"  says  the  apostle  Peter,|  "  which  by  the 

*  Acts  xiii.  46,  47.  t  Rom.  x.  14,  15.         \  1  Pet.  i.  24,  25, 


136  CHRISTIAN   INSTRUMENTALITY 

gospel  is  preached  unto  you  ; "  plainly  implying  that,  in 
opposition  to  the  instability  of  all  things  human,  the  dispen- 
sation of  the  gospel  is  to  last  forever ;  and  that,  in  defiance 
of  all  the  hostility  of  earth,  it  is  to  continue  as  the  great  and 
only  principle  of  the  world's  regeneration.  Were  it  possible 
that  the  present  economy  should  be  suspended  or  terminated 
before  the  world  is  saved,  all  hope  of  human  recovery  would 
perish.  Man  would  behold  the  only  rock  on  which  his  hope 
can  anchor,  sink  in  a  shoreless  and  tempestuous  sea.  For 
amidst  the  ceaseless  whirl  and  disappearance  of  every  thing 
around  him,  the  only  ground  of  hope  for  the  future  which 
God  himself  has  supplied  consists,  according  to  this  apostle, 
in  the  sufficiency  and  perpetuity  of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

2.  May  we  not  expect  to  find  that  the  cheering  anticipa- 
tion of  a  world  reclaimed  by  the  sanctified  diffusion  of  the 
gospel  would  lead  "  holy  men  of  God  "  to  give  utterance  to 
corresponding  desires  in  prayer?  The  expectation  is  not 
disappointed.  The  psalmist  prayed,  *  "  That  thy  way  may 
be  known  upon  earth,  and  thy  saving  health  among  all  na- 
tions ;  "  that  the  healing  influence  of  divine  revelation,  like 
a  heavenly  current  of  vital  air,  might  sweep  over  the  spirit- 
ual sickness  of  the  world,  and  impart  to  it  health,  and  vigor, 
and  happiness.  And  as  he  regarded  the  knowledge  of  God 
as  the  only  remedy  of  the  world's  misery,  so  he  appears  to 
have  taken  it  for  granted  that  the  prosperity  of  the  church 
would  be  marked  by  the  diffusion  of  that  knowledge,  and 
that  such  diffusion  would  be  attended  with  the  most  happy 
results.  "  God  shall  bless  us,"  he  adds, "  and  all  the  ends  of 
the  earth  shall  fear  him : "  the  leaven  of  his  grace  shall  work 
from  his  church  outwards  till  the  entire  mass  of  humanity 
be  leavened ;  his  kingdom  shall  extend  on  every  side  till  it 
embraces  the  world.  But  the  language  of  Christ  himself  on 
this  subject  is  conclusive,  f  "  When  he  saw  the  multitudes 
he  was  moved  with  compassion  on  them,  because  they  fainted, 
and  were  scattered  abroad,  as  sheep  having  no  shepherd. 
Then  saith  he  to  his  disciples,  The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous, 
but  the  laborers  are  few ;  pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest,  that  he  will  send  forth  laborers  into  his  harvest." 
That  this  was  not  a  duty  binding  only  on  those  immediately 
addressed  is  evident,  for  the  reason  of  the  command  is  laid  in 
the  destitute  condition  of  the  multitudes.     As  long,  there- 

*  Psa.  Ixvii.  t  Matt.  ix.  36—38. 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   PROPHECY.  137 

fore,  as  it  is  true  that  any  portion  of  mankind  are  perishing 
"  as  sheep  having  no  shepherd,"  it  will  continue  to  be  the 
duty  of  Christians  to  pray  that  shepherds  may  be  provided 
for  them.  And  as  long  as  any  disproportion  remains  between 
the  vast  harvest  of  souls  to  be  gathered  into  the  garner  of 
Christ  and  the  number  of  laborers  employed,  it  will  ever  be 
imperative  on  the  church  to  repeat  the  cry  for  an  increase 
of  Christian  instrumentality.  The  language  of  Christ  thus 
plainly  implies  that  the  harvest  of  the  world  is  to  be  reaped 
by  the  agency  of  his  people ;  and  that  in  proportion  as  that 
agency  is  increased  under  his  superintendence,  will  be  the 
extent  of  harvest  saved. 

And  still  more  to  the  purpose,  if  possible,  is  the  language 
of  Christ  in  his  intercessory  prayer :  "  Neither  pray  I  for 
these  alone,  but  for  them  also  who  shall  believe  on  me 
through  their  word;  that  they  all  may  be  one  —  that  the 
world  may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me ; "  leaving  us  to  the 
necessary  inference,  first,  that  the  only  way  in  which  the 
church  is  to  look  for  additions,  is  by  men  being  brought  to 
believe  the  gospel ;  for  if  any  are  to  be  converted  otherwise, 
for  such  the  Savior  did  not  pray.  And,  secondly,  that  as 
often  as  such  additions  are  made,  they  are  to  unite  with  the 
great  body  of  the  faithful  for  the  conversion  of  others,  and 
thus  to  proceed  till  the  world  is  saved. 

3.  May  we  not  expect,  further,  that  if  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  on  earth  is  to  be  set  up  by  means  of  his  dependent 
but  devoted  subjects,  the  result  will  be  attained  gradually  as 
opposed  to  suddenly ;  and  that,  in  order  to  correct  and  guide 
our  expectations,  scriptural  intimations  will  be  afforded  that 
progressiveness  will  be  one  of  the  characteristics  of  the  work  ? 
Analogy,  indeed,  might  lead  us  to  expect  this;  for  progress 
is  one  of  the  distinctive  features  of  all  the  divine  operations 
in  nature  and  providence.  But  here,  where  the  agency  to  be 
employed  is  human,  it  appears  unavoidable.  For  the  eminent 
piety  of  the  individual  Christian,  and  the  union  and  devoted- 
ness  of  the  collective  church  —  the  twofold  element  of  in- 
strumental fitness  requisite  for  the  conversion  of  mankind  — 
can  only  result  from  a  prolonged  course  of  divine  discipline. 
Accordingly,  the  various  imagery  under  which  the  dissemi- 
nation of  Christianity  is  represented  in  the  word  of  God,  is 
remarkable  for  the  uniform  manner  in  which  it  preserves  this 
characteristic  of  progressiveness.  If  Ezekiel  beheld  it  in  the 
living  stream  which  flowed  from  the  sanctuary,  he  saw  that 
12* 


138  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

stream  deepen  and  widen  in  its  onward  course,  till  "  the 
waters  were  risen,  waters  to  swim  in,  a  river  that  could  not 
be  passed  over."  If  Daniel  was  instructed  to  recognize,  in 
"  a  stone  cut  out  without  hands,"  an  emblem  of  the  kingdom 
of  Christ,  the  mysterious  manner  in  which  it  became  en- 
larged, and  occupied  province  after  province,  till  it  "  filled 
the  whole  earth,"  strikingly  represented  the  growth  of  that 
spiritual  empire  which  is  destined  to  "  break  in  pieces  and 
consume  all "  hostile  power,  and  to  "  stand  forever."  If  the 
Sovereign  himself  of  that  kingdom  selects  appropriate  em- 
blems of  its  progress,  he  finds  them  in  the  growth  of  the  mus- 
tard-seed, and  in  the  diffusive  influence  of  the  leaven.  Not, 
indeed,  that  in  its  progress  to  perfection  it  will  be  entirely 
exempted  from  external  shocks.  Like  the  earthly  empires 
which  it  is  destined  finally  to  absorb,  its  affairs  may  often 
approach  a  crisis  which  may  appear  to  threaten  its  existence. 
But,  true  to  the  emblems  by  which  our  Lord  represents  it,  its 
history  will  eventually  exhibit  the  threefold  characteristic,  of 
original  insignificance,  constant  though  often  imperceptible 
progress,  crowned  with  ultimate  greatness  and  universal 
power. 

4.  But  what  appropriate  test  of  the  truth  of  the  doctrine 
can  we  look  for  in  Scripture  without  readily  finding  it?  Is 
it  an  express  command  on  the  subject  ?  We  possess  it  in  the 
final  command  of  Christ  to  his  servants,  to  "  preach  the  gos- 
pel to  every  creature."  Is  it  a  promise  of  divine  assistance 
and  success  in  obeying  this  command  1  We  have  it  in  the 
promise  which  accompanies  it,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world,"  for  the  context  implies  and 
requires  a  promise,  not  so  much  of  protection  in  danger,  as 
of  success  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  object  proposed ;  so 
that  the  command  and  promise  combined  may  be  regarded  as 
the  great  missionary  charter  of  the  church  for  all  time ;  se- 
curing to  his  devoted  servants,  in  every  age,  a  measure  of 
success  proportioned  to  their  zeal  for  his  glory. 

V.  It  remains,  then,  in  the  next  place,  that  we  harmonize 
the  whole  with  the  chapters  which  have  gone  before.  And 
here  our  course  is  too  obvious  to  be  mistaken.  For,  if  the 
object  of  the  first  chapter  was  to  unfold  that  Scripture  theory 
of  influence  by  which  Christian  is  to  be  united  to  Chris- 
tian, and  church  to  church,  and  the  whole  to  be  subordi- 
nated to  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  the  recovery  of 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   PROPHECY.  139 

the  world,  we  have  seen  that  prophecy  points  to  the  same 
comprehensive  arrangement  for  the  same  exalted  issue.  In- 
deed, that  sublime  prophecy  of  Christ  which  may  be  regarded 
as  the  sum  of  the  whole  of  unfulfilled  prediction  relative  to 
his  kingdom  on  earth  —  "  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the 
earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me "  —  may  be  regarded  also 
as  the  sum  of  the  theory  of  spiritual  instrumentality.  For 
not  only  does  it  predict  the  manner  of  man's  recovery,  by  the 
attracting  and  saving  influence  of  the  cross,  but  it  obviously 
implies  that  all  the  influences  of  the  church  are  to  be  subor- 
dinated to  that  central  power,  till  all  the  agencies  and  powers 
of  earth  are  entirely  in  unison  with  it.  And  if  the  object  of 
the  second  chapter  was  to  show  that  the  whole  tenor  of 
Scripture  command  and  example  on  the  subject,  and  the 
entire  constitution  of  the  mediatorial  economy,  including  all 
holy  power  in  heaven  and  earth,  form  but  one  loud  practical 
call  on  Christians  to  unreserved  consecration,  —  we  have  seen 
that  prophecy  is  only  the  voice  of  that  future  which  is  in- 
cluded in  the  same  economy,  chiming  in  with  the  voice  of 
the  past  and  the  present,  and  calling  louder  still  for  the  same 
consecration. 

Are  we  tempted  to  apprehend,  for  instance,  that  the  Chris- 
tian church  exhausted  its  energies  in  its  first  days,  and  can 
never  again  expect  to  see  them  repeated  1  Prophecy  points 
us  aloft  to  an  emblem  of  the  present,  and,  behold,  an  angel 
comes  speeding  through  the  vault  of  heaven,  having  the  ever- 
lasting gospel  to  preach  to  all  the  dwellers  on  earth  —  telling 
us  of  facilities  for  its  propagation  yet  to  appear,  of  resources 
in  the  church  yet  to  be  developed,  and  of  unexampled  tri- 
umphs in  the  world  yet  to  be  won.  Do  we  entertain  a  fear 
that  the  hostility  of  the  world  will  cloud  our  prospect  and 
arrest  our  progress  ?  In  the  visions  of  prophecy  we  behold 
another  mighty  angel  casting  a  millstone  into  the  sea,  and 
crying,  "  Thus  Babylon  is  fallen,  is  fallen ; "  and  another 
drying  up  the  Euphrates  of  Mahometan  power ;  and  another, 
binding  Apollyon  himself  in  the  chain  of  God's  decrees,  and 
casting  him  down  into  his  own  pit.  The  mountain  full  of 
horses  and  chariots  of  fire  round  about  Elisha,  which  bursts 
on  the  opened  eyes  of  his  servant,  is  tameness  itself  com- 
pared with  the  vision  of  the  future  to  which  prophecy  points 
the  church  —  all  heaven  marshalled  and  occupied  in  remov- 
ing every  conceivable  obstacle  to  the  free  and  universal 
diffusion  of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 


140  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

At  no  period  of  the  past,  probably,  could  our  eyes  have 
been  opened  to  the  reality  of  supernatural  agency  in  the 
church,  without  beholding  the  sublime  spectacle  of  "  the 
angels  of  God  ascending  and  descending"  in  its  service,  or 
arrayed  in  its  defence.  But,  as  if  the  active  share  they  have 
hitherto  taken  in  its  affairs  were  as  nothing  when  compared 
with  that  which  devolves  on  them  during  "  the  time  of  the 
end,"  the  successive  scenes  of  Apocalyptic  vision  are  crowded 
with  their  numbers  and  distinguished  by  their  agency.  Is  it 
that  as  that  time  approaches  its  close,  and  events  rush  to  their 
final  result,  they  will  take  a  more  intense  interest  in  the 
issue?  Or  is  it  that  the  ranks  of  the  church  triumphant  will 
be  allowed  to  draw  nearer  to  those  of  the  church  militant, 
and  more  frequently  to  mingle  and  make  common  cause,  pre- 
paratory to  their  complete  and  everlasting  juncture  in  heav- 
en ?  However  this  may  be,  should  not  the  prophetic  vision 
of  their  winged  activity  and  flaming  zeal  kindle  the  fire  of  a 
holy  and  consuming  emulation  in  the  church  below  ?  "A 
great  nation,"  it  was  lately  said  by  a  high  political  authority 
— "  a  great  nation  cannot  have  a  little  war."  The  church 
of  Christ  is  militant ;  and,  considering  the  object  of  its  con- 
test, the  character  of  its  spiritual  allies  and  resources,  the 
divinity  of  its  Leader,  and  the  grandeur  of  its  destiny,  it  absorbs 
all  the  spiritual  and  created  greatness  of  the  universe ;  and 
should  it  be  satisfied  with  a  little  war  1  Should  not  every  blast 
of  the  Apocalyptic  trumpet  ring  through  the  church  as  a  sum- 
mons to  universal  action  1  and  every  soldier  of  the  Christian 
army  demean  himself  as  if  an  angel  fought  at  his  side,  and  in- 
finite issues  were  waiting  the  result  ?  Do  we  ask  to  look  beyond 
the  conflict,  and  see  its  final  results  ?  They  have  been  seen  ; 
and  the  eyes  that  gazed  on  them,  though  closing  in  death, 
beamed  and  brightened  with  the  reflected  glory.  They  have 
been  sung ;  and  they  who  sang  them  may  be  regarded  as 
having  lived  for  this  as  for  their  highest  earthly  end  ;  and 
while  they  sang,  angels  have  hushed  the  music  of  their  harps 
to  listen  to  the  strain.  And  still  it  is  the  office  of  prophecy 
to  point  out  these  results  to  the  eye  of  faith.  But  what  is  the 
form  in  which  we  would  see  them  1  for  "  in  the  visions  of  the 
Lord  "  they  have  been  made  to  assume  every  hue  of  beauty, 
every  character  of  greatness,  every  aspect  of  glory.  Is  it 
that  of  a  stone  instinct  with  life,  and  growing  as  it  rolls  by 
an  invisible  power,  till  it  fills  the  earth  ?  Prophecy  conducts 
us  to  an  elevation   where  we  behold  that  mystic  stone  in 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   PROPHECY.  141 

motion.  Already  has  it  attained  the  magnitude  of  a  moun- 
tain, and  attracts  the  eyes  of  the  nations.  Now  it  moves, 
and  all  things  vibrate  at  its  approach.  Now  it  is  arrested  by 
an  obstacle  which  appears  insuperable ;  but  still  its  base 
expands,  and  its  head  towers  higher.  Again  it  moves,  and 
the  obstacle  that  opposed  it  is  "  ground  to  powder."  On- 
wards it  rolls  through  islands  and  continents,  scattering  from 
its  sides  the  seeds  and  fertility  of  a  new  creation,  and  pour- 
ing from  its  bosom  the  streams  of  the  water  of  life.  It 
touches  another  province,  and  is  resisted  on  the  very  shores. 
But  vain  is  the  opposition.  After  the  pause  of  a  moment  — 
the  falling  of  idols  and  shrines  announces  that  it  is  again  in 
motion.  Even  while  we  have  been  describing  its  progress,  it 
has  continued  to  swell  and  enlarge.  Like  the  Andes  to 
South  America,  it  is  seen  from  every  quarter ;  and,  with  the 
light  of  an  unsetting  sun  resting  on  its  summit,  and  the 
nations  collecting  at  its  foot,  it  forms  the  only  object  of  true 
sublimity  the  earth  contains. 

Is  it  a  temple  ?  Now,  it  is  only  in  the  course  of  erection  ; 
and  we  find  ourselves  standing  amidst  the  apparent  confusion 
of  the  surrounding  materials ;  while  many  of  the  laborers  are 
away,  preparing  the  "  living  stones ; "  and  the  great  majority 
of  the  race  are  bowing  at  idolatrous  shrines,  and  worshipping 
an  unknown  God.  But  prophecy  takes  us  to  a  mount  of 
vision,  and,  lo!  the  stupendous  fabric,  ample  as  the  earth, 
silently  rising  towards  heaven ;  the  pediment  placed  on  the 
columns,  the  edifice  crowned  with  its  dome,  and  all  nations 
flowing  unto  it !  And  while  we  are  looking,  they  suddenly 
recover  from  their  breathless  admiration  of  its  magnitude, 
proportions,  and  glories,  to  burst  forth  into  that  anthem  of 
praise  with  which  the  universe  and  eternity  are  destined  to 
resound. 

Is  it  the  achievement  of  a  conquest,  and  the  erection  of  a 
kingdom  ?  "  The  God  of  heaven  shall  set  up  a  kingdom 
which  shall  never  be  destroyed."  When  we  read  the  history 
of  an  earthly  power,  we  are  constrained  to  admire  the  march 
of  events  by  which  it  attains  to  national  greatness.  As  its 
population  multiplies  and  its  boundaries  enlarge,  battles  are 
fought  and  victories  won.  Its  times  of  excitement  develop 
greatness  of  character,  and  that  greatness  of  character  im- 
presses its  image  on  the  times.  But  how  effectually  is  all 
this  glory  eclipsed  when  brought  into  contrast  with  the 
progress  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ !     Here  the  field   is  the 


142  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

world,  while  every  object  in  it  is  a  weapon,  every  being  it 
contains  is  in  action,  and  every  issue  depending  is  eternal. 
In  this  strife  already  kingdoms  have  been  subverted,  and 
generations  have  been  engaged  !  Who  does  not  pant  to  gain 
a  height  whence  he  can  look  down  and  survey  its  progress  ? 
To  such  a  point  does  prophecy  conduct  us.  Even  while  we 
look,  the  charge  is  sounded,  and  the  onset  made.  Far  and 
wide  the  conflict  rages.  Banner  after  banner  joins  the  foe : 
tribe  after  tribe  comes  "  out  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  the 
help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty."  Victory  seems  to 
alternate  from  side  to  side.  Now  the  soldiers  of  the  cross 
give  way,  "  as  when  a  standard-bearer  fainteth ; "  and  now 
raise  a  shout  of  joy  as  they  plant  their  standard  on  some  fallen 
fortress  of  Satan.  Here  "the  Captain  of  salvation"  sends 
them  unexpected  support ;  and  there  "  his  right  hand  teaches 
him  terrible  things."  Leading  them  on  from  "  conquering 
to  conquer,"  opposition  gradually  slackens ;  "  the  armies  of 
the  aliens"  are  put  to  flight,  or  yield  themselves  willing  cap- 
tives. The  earth  with  joy  receives  her  King ;  and  his  king- 
dom of  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  embraces  the  world. 

Is  the  aspect  under  which  we  would  look  on  the  results  of 
spiritual  agency  that  of  a  new  creation?  "  He  that  sat  upon 
the  throne  said,  Behold,  I  make  all  things  new."  Even  now 
the  spirit  is  moving  on  the  face  of  the  human  chaos.  Fiat 
after  fiat  goes  forth;  and  what  light  breaks  in  on  the  dark- 
ness of  ages;  what  mighty  masses  of  humanity  are  uplifting 
themselves  in  solemn  majesty,  like  primitive  mountains  rising 
from  the  deep  ;  what  more  than  verdant  beauty  clothes  the 
moral  landscape ;  how  gloriously  dawns  the  Sabbath  of  the 
world  !  Where  now  is  the  midnight  gloom  of  ignorance  and 
idolatry?  the  desolations  and  misery  attendant  on  sin?  We 
look,  and  listen  ;  but  no  reign  of  darkness,  no  habitation  of 
cruelty,  no  sound  of  anguish  remains  !  The  will  of  God  is 
done  on  earth,  as  it  is  done  in  heaven !  The  nations  own 
no  other  law ;  and  hence  their  aspect  is  that  of  a  happy  fam- 
ily. The  church  aims  at  no  other  end  ;  and  hence  all  her 
members  are  invested  with  the  garments  of  salvation  and  the 
robes  of  praise.  The  world  is  bathed  in  the  light  of  peace, 
and  purity,  and  love.  Inanimate  nature  itself  partakes  of  the 
general  joy.  To  the  eye  of  renewed  man  it  exhibits  a  beauty 
unknown  before,  and  to  his  ear  it  brings  lessons  of  surpassing 
wisdom.  Trees  wave  with  gladness,  and  the  floods  clap 
their  hands;  the  light  of  the  moon  is  as  the  light  of  the  sun, 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   PROPHECY.  143 

and  the  light  of  the  sun  is  sevenfold.  Over  that  scene,  the 
morning  stars  sing  together,  and  the  sons  of  God  shout  for 
joy  :  while  the  Divine  Creator  himself  complacently  beholds 
it,  and  proclaims  it  good. 

Or,  finally,  would  we  contemplate  the  result  of  the  whole 
in  heaven  ?  Then  must  we  take  up  a  position  from  which 
we  can  behold  the  closing  scenes  of  time,  and  the  opening 
grandeurs  of  eternity  ;  the  coming  of  Christ,  the  pomp  and 
ministry  of  his  attendant  angels,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead, 
the  awful  solemnities  of  the  judgment  day.  With  the  prophet 
of  Patmos,  we  must  mark  the  numbers  of  those  who  go  away 
into  everlasting  life,  and  learn  their  songs ;  we  must  try  to 
estimate  their  joy  when  they  cast  their  crowns  at  the  feet 
of  infinite  love,  and  to  multiply  its  amount  by  the  ages  of 
eternity. 

True,  these  are  visions ;  but  they  are  visions  painted  by 
the  hand  of  God ;  dear  in  every  age  to  the  church  of  God ; 
gazed  on  in  death  by  the  Son  of  God.  Yes,  then  they  were 
brought  and  set  before  him ;  and  such  was  the  joy  with  which 
they  filled  him,  that  he  endured  the  cross,  despising  the 
shame.  He  saw  that  stone  advance ;  that  temple  rise ;  that 
kingdom  come ;  that  new  creation  dawn :  that  beatitude  of 
the  redeemed  in  heaven  —  his  grace  the  theme  of  every 
tongue,  his  glory  the  object  of  every  eye.  He  saw  of  the 
travail  of  his  soul,  and  was  satisfied — his  soul  was  satisfied. 
Even  in  the  hour  of  its  travail  it  was  satisfied.  What  an 
unlimited  vision  of  happiness  must  it  have  been — happiness 
not  bounded  by  time,  but  filling  the  expanse  of  eternity  !  His 
prophetic  eye,  even  then,  caught  a  view  of  the  infinite  result 
in  heaven.  His  ear  caught  the  far-distant  shout  of  his 
redeemed  and  glorified  church,  singing,  "  Worthy  is  the 
Lamb  that  was  slain ! "  And  if  we  would  do  justice  to  our 
office  as  instruments  for  the  salvation  of  the  world,  if  we 
would  catch  the  true  inspiration  of  our  work,  we  too  must 
often  cross,  as  he  did,  the  threshold  of  eternity,  transport 
ourselves  ten  thousand  ages  hence  into  the  blessedness  of 
heaven,  and  behold  the  fruits  of  our  instrumentality  there, 
still  adding  new  joy  to  angels,  and  new  tides  of  glory  around 
the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb. 

What  other  practical  purpose,  indeed,  can  these  prophetic 
disclosures,  at  present,  answer  1  Or  to  what  higher  end  can 
they  be  applied  ?  If  the  progress  of  the  gospel,  and  its  happy 
results,  assume  the  appearance  of  a  mountain  ever  moving 


144  CHRISTIAN   INSTRUMENTALITY 

onwards,  and  ever  growing  as  it  moves,  displacing  or  crush- 
ing every  obstacle,  and  filling  the  whole  earth  with  its  pres- 
ence, —  what  does  it  say  to  our  inactivity,  but  that  we  must 
advance  along  with  it,  or  be  annihilated  by  it?  And  what 
does  it  say  to  our  fears  of  opposition  and  failure,  but  that  we 
may  give  them  all  to  the  wind  ?  If,  for  the  same  end,  a  tem- 
ple rises  whose  courts  include  a  worshipping  world,  and 
whose  incense  of  praise  perfumes  the  universe,  what  is  the 
language  in  which  it  addresses  us  but  that  of  David  in  the 
prospect  of  erecting  its  ancient  type,  "  And  who  then  is  will- 
ing to  consecrate  his  service  this  day  unto  the  Lord?"  If 
the  church  appear  in  conflict  with  the  world,  and  triumphant 
over  it,  why  are  we  allowed  to  look  on  the  stirring  scene  but 
that  we  may  catch  the  ardor  of  the  Christian  hero;  may 
mark  how  certainly  every  one  that  is  not  for  Christ  is  against 
him,  how  necessarily  inactivity  in  his  cause  produces  the 
effect,  and  receives  the  punishment,  of  positive  hostility ;  may 
be  excited  to  endure  hardship  and  to  aspire  to  the  glorious 
deeds  of  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  If  the  splendors  of 
a  new  creation  burst  on  our  view,  why  is  it  but  that  we  may 
feel  a  pang  of  solicitude  for  the  groans  and  travails  of  the 
old  ?  Why,  but  that  we  may  remember  that  we  are  living 
during  the  work-days  of  the  mighty  process ;  and  that  he 
who  commanded  the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness  hath 
issued  the  fiat  to  us,  "  Let  your  light  shine  before  men  ;  go 
into  all  the  world  and  diffuse  it "  ?  Each  stage  of  the  mate- 
rial creation  was  wisely  adapted  to  prepare  the  way  for  that 
which  succeeded.  All  its  unfinished  parts  reciprocated  their 
influence,  pointed  to  that  which  was  to  follow,  and  craved 
and  tended  to  a  perfect  whole.  Light  was  given  to  the  sun 
to  be  dispensed  ;  and  he  fulfilled  the  law  of  his  being,  and 
thus  prepared  the  way  for  other  and  higher  being.  Had  he 
been  endowed  with  intelligence  and  responsible  power,  and 
had  he,  in  the  exercise  of  that  power,  retracted  his  beams 
and  refused  to  shine,  how  enormous  the  guilt,  how  fearful 
the  result !  In  the  process  of  the  new  creation,  the  darkness 
has  passed  away,  and  the  light  of  salvation  has  come  —  light 
in  the  presence  of  which  all  material  splendor  is  eclipsed  and 
disappears.  That  light  has  been  given  to  us  in  a  sense 
which  justifies  its  Author  in  saying,  "  Ye  are  the  light  of  the 
world ; "  and  given  to  us  with  a  solemn  charge  that  we  so 
dispense  it  as  that  the  world  may  rejoice  in  its  beams.  To 
withhold  our  light,  then,  is  to  contract  guilt  of  a  magnitude 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   PROPHECY.  145 

never  to  be  computed.  Or  if,  while  we  are  asking,  "  What 
shall  the  end  of  these  things  be  ?  **  we  are  answered  by  the 
sight  of  numbers  without  number  waving  their  victorious 
palms,  and  by  the  voices  of  all  these,  joined  by  the  hosts  of 
the  unfallen,  in  one  stupendous  concert  of  praise,  —  who  does 
not  hear,  above  this  "  sound  of  many  waters,"  the  voice  which 
says,  "  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a 
crown  of  life."  "  They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  bright- 
ness of  the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteous- 
ness as  the  stars  forever  and  ever." 

And  is  this  the  lofty  practical  purpose  of  prophecy  ?  And 
are  these  our  inducements  to  proceed  in  the  diffusion  of  the 
gospel  1  Then  ought  they  not  to  be  felt  by  us  at  this  mo- 
ment with  as  much  freshness  and  force  as  if  they  had  opened 
on  us  now  for  the  first  time  1  Suppose  this  were  literally  the 
fact.  Had  prophetic  visions,  like  those  we  have  considered, 
never  as  yet  been  vouchsafed  to  us  ;  had  the  Christian  church 
commenced  its  missionary  operations  simply  in  obedience  to 
what  it  supposed  to  be  the  unuttered  will  of  God  ;  had  it 
assembled  by  its  representatives  to  consult  on  the  propriety 
of  continuing  those  operations ;  had  a  spirit  of  indolence  or 
despondency  seized  it,  and  a  disposition  to  wait  for  some 
divine  intimation  before  it  advanced  any  farther ;  had  it 
wrestled  in  prayer  for  such  an  intimation ;  and  if,  while  its 
members  were  thus  "  with  one  accord  in  one  place,"  there 
had  suddenly  come  "  a  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a  rushing 
mighty  wind,"  filling  all  the  place ;  had  Isaiah  come  and 
sung  the  glory  of  the  latter  days ;  had  Daniel  shown  them 
the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  enlarging  and  absorbing  all 
earthly  power;  had  John  recounted  the  scenes  of  Patmos; 
and  had  He  who  sent  his  angel  there  to  interpret  them,  again 
appeared,  commanding  them  to  hasten  away  with  his  gospel 
into  all  the  world,  promising  to  be  always  with  them,  and 
assuring  them  of  "  floods  "  of  spiritual  influence  yet  to  be 
poured  out  upon  all  flesh,  —  whose  zeal  would  not  kindle  and 
burn  ?  Whose  purpose  would  not  catch  a  measure  of  divine 
greatness  1  Whose  lips  would  not  be  ready  to  exclaim, 
"  Here  am  I,  send  me  "  1  As  if  such  a  vision  had  just  trans- 
pired, let  us  aim  to  realize  its  inspiring  motives ;  and  every 
Christian  will  be  transformed,  in  effect,  into  a  prophet, 
"  crying,  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  his  paths 
straight." 

Thus,  if  the  first  chapter  explains  the  Scripture  theory  of 
13 


146  CHRISTIAN    INSTRUMENTALITY 

Christian  instrumentality,  the  second  prescribes  and  makes 
it  imperative  ;  and  the  third  predicts  and  promises  its  tri- 
umph, in  promoting  the  conversion  of  the  world.  If  the  first 
chapter  states  the  plan  by  which  all  the  holy  influences  of 
the  past  should  have  been  collected,  multiplied,  and  com- 
bined, the  second  exhibits  and  enforces  the  obligation  of 
the  present  to  that  entire  consecration  which  the  plan  sup- 
poses, and  the  third  engages  that  such  consecration  shall 
certainly  issue  in  the  erection  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 
And  one  passage  of  Scripture  there  is,  which,  if  we  mistake 
not,  virtually  includes,  and  practically  applies,  the  whole. 
That  passage  we  have  already  quoted  as  the  divine  postscript 
of  the  sacred  volume.  "And  the  Spirit  and  the  bride  say, 
Come.  And  let  him  that  heareth  say,  Come.  And  let  him  that 
is  athirst  come.  And  whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water 
of  life  freely."  Here  are  at  once  the  plan  by  which  every 
holy  agency  is  combined  and  put  in  requisition  for  the  recov- 
ery of  man;  the  summons  of  the  Lord  of  the  chuFch  himself 
for  every  new  agency  as  it  comes  into  being  to  join  in  the 
great  object  for  which  the  plan  exists ;  and  —  considering 
the  position  which  the  verse  occupies  as  among  the  closing 
words  of  the  Revelation — the  practical  application  of  all 
unfulfilled  prophecy  respecting  that  object.  Taking  the  verse 
in  connection  with  its  contexts,  its  practical  power  becomes 
even  more  emphatic.  "  \  I,  Jesus,  have  sent  mine  angel  to 
testify  unto  you  these  things  in  the  churches.  I  am  the  Root 
and  the  Offspring  of  David,  and  the  bright  and  morning  Star.' 
And  as  my  person  unites  the  wide  extremes  of  divinity  and 
humanity,  my  office  invests  me  with  all  power  in  heaven  and 
on  earth,  and  my  purposes  of  mercy  require  that  angels,  as 
well  as  men,  should  be  employed  in  my  service.  Accordingly, 
one  of  them  has  been  sent  to  instruct  the  churches  in  those 
mysteries  of  Providence  whose  accomplishment  is  to  reach 
to  the  end  of  time.  And,  now,  I  myself  appear,  to  close  the 
prophecy,  as  I  came  to  open  it.  Hear,  then,  the  conclusion 
of  the  whole  matter.  I  have  opened  a  fountain  of  life  for  the 
perishing  world.  The  Spirit  and  the  church  —  God,  angels, 
and  holy  men  —  are  combined,  in  urging  the  world  to  come. 
And  as  often  as  a  single  soul  is  prevailed  on  to  obey  the  call, 
he  is  to  consider  himself  bound,  even  though  he  can  but 
feebly  lift  up  his  voice,  and  say,  '  Come,'  to  unite  with  all 
who  are  already  employed  in  publishing  my  invitations  of 
mercy  ;  for  whosoever  will  is  welcome  to  partake.     Such  is, 


ILLUSTRATED   FROM   PROPHECY.  147 

simply,  my  final  will ;  such  the  practical  application  of  all 
the  predictions  which  my  angel  has  now  testified  to  the 
churches ;  and  such  the  sum  of  all  that  Scripture  testifies  on 
the  subject,  and  of  the  means  by  which  I  propose  to  draw  all 
men  unto  me.  I  testify,  therefore,  that  if  any  man  shall  alter 
the  words  of  the  book  of  this  prophecy,  so  as  to  disturb  the 
legitimate  and  practical  application  which  I  thus  finally  and 
authoritatively  give  to  them,  I  will  visit  him  with  signal  marks 
of  my  most  awful  displeasure." 

How  glorious  the  object  which  induces  the  Savior  to  ad- 
dress his  church  —  the  salvation  of  the  world  !  How  simple 
the  method  by  which  he  proposes  to  accomplish  it !  How 
fearful  his  sacred  jealousy  that  nothing  should  be  said  or 
done  to  impair  its  efficiency  !  How  strong  the  certainty 
implied  in  that  jealousy  that  his  end  will  be  finally  gained  ! 
And  how  loud  the  summons  of  the  whole  to  every  Christian, 
and  every  Christian  church,  to  unite  and  call  the  world  to 
come !  If  all  the  orders  of  the  church  triumphant  were  per- 
mitted audibly  to  address  the  world,  but  were  restricted  to  a 
single  word,  that  word  would  be  come.  If  all  the  invitations 
of  the  gospel,  travailing  as  they  do  with  the  burden  of  infinite 
compassion,  could  be  condensed  and  uttered  in  a  single  word, 
that  word  would  be  come.  But  the  church  of  the  day  is  the 
only  organ  through  which  that  word  can  be  uttered ;  so  that, 
were  all  its  duties  in  reference  to  the  world  to  be  expressed 
in  a  single  term,  it  would  be  to  utter  the  invitation,  come; 
and  if,  in  uttering  it,  all  its  tongues  were  to  become  vocal, 
and  each  of  its  members  could  pour  into  it  all  the  passionate 
and  holy  emotion  the  heart  of  man  has  ever  known,  it  would 
only  be  approaching  the  emphasis  with  which  the  invitation 
should  be  uttered.  As  if  the  church  of  the  present  day,  then, 
had  to  retrieve  the  silence  of  all  the  past,  and  as  if  it  had  only 
a  word  in  which  to  retrieve  that  silence,  and  a  moment  in 
which  to  utter  that  word,  let  it  call,  beseech,  adjure,  the 
world  to  come;  and  the  Spirit  himself  would  speak  in  its 
tones  with  an  infinite  energy ;  and  then,  to  the  sublime  an- 
nouncement of  Christ,  "  Behold,  I  come  quickly,"  the  church 
would  be  prepared  to  respond  with  joy,  "  Amen,  even  so, 
come,  Lord  Jesus." 


PART  II. 


THE  CLAIMS  OF   THE   MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE  ARISING 
FROM   THE   BENEFITS    WHICH    HAVE   ATTENDED   IT. 


CHAPTER    I 


THE    HISTORY    OF    CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS. 

Now,  if  it  be  true  that  the  Christian  church  is  thus  con- 
structed expressly  to  imbody  and  diffuse  the  influence  of  the 
cross,  and  if  its  full  efficiency  for  this  end  depends,  under 
God,  on  the  entireness  of  its  consecration  to  this  office,  we 
may  expect  to  find  that  every  page  of  its  history  illustrates  and 
corroborates  this  truth. 

I.  No  law  of  nature  can  be  obeyed  without  advantage  to 
him  who  obeys  it;  nor  be  violated,  without  avenging  itself, 
and  vindicating  its  authority.  The  same  is  true  of  the  laws 
of  the  Christian  church.  And,  accordingly,  it  might  easily 
be  shown  by  an  induction  of  the  great  facts  of  its  history, 
that  in  every  age  it  has  flourished  or  declined  in  proportion  as 
it  has  fulfilled  this  primary  object  of  its  constitution. 

Need  we  repeat,  for  instance,  that  the  period  of  its  first 
and  greatest  activity  was  the  season  of  its  greatest  prosperity  ? 
that  it  expanded  without  the  aid  of  any  of  man's  favorite  in- 
strumentality, learning,  eloquence,  wealth,  or  arms  1  that  it 
achieved  its  triumphs  in  the  face  of  all  these  ?  that  its  progress 
from  place  to  place  was  marked  by  the  fall  of  idol  temples, 
and  the  substitution  of  Christian  sanctuaries  ?  and  that  God 
caused  it  to  triumph  in  every  place?  And  why  all  this, 
but  because  the  church  was  acting  in  character,  and  fulfilling 
its  office,  as  the  representative  of  the  cross   to  the  world  ? 


THE   HISTORY   OF   CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS.  149 

Had  we  witnessed  the  devotedness  of  its  first  days  —  subject 
though  it  was,  even  then,  to  many  and  grievous  deductions 
—  had  we  heard  only  of  its  early  history  and  triumphant 
progress  from  land  to  land,  how  naturally  might  we  inquire 
the  date  when  the  gospel  completed  a  universal  conquest; 
at  what  precise  period  it  was  that  India  embraced  the  faith 
of  Christ ;  how  long  it  was  before  China  was  evangelized; 
whether  there  was  not  a  year  of  jubilee  on  earth  when 
the  gospel  had  been  preached  to  the  last  of  the  heathens, 
and  in  what  year  the  festival  occurred.  Alas  for  the  church 
that  these  inquiries  should  sound  so  strange ;  and  alas  for  the 
world ! 

Need  we  remind  the  reader  that  the  decline  of  Christian 
devotedness  was  the  decline  of  Christian  prosperity?  We 
might  indeed  have  inferred  that  such  would  be  the  result 
from  the  known  constitution  of  the  Christian  church ;  that 
if  its  relative  efficiency  depends  on  its  entire  consecration, 
the  slightest  diversion  of  its  influence  would  be  so  much  given 
to  the  very  power  which  it  was  called  into  existence  expressly 
to  counteract ;  and  that  if  that  influence  should  come  to  be 
so  diverted  to  any  considerable  amount,  the  efficiency  of  the 
church  would  be  comparatively  destroyed,  and  itself  be  in 
danger  of  being  vanquished  by  the  counter  influence  of  the 
world.  And  this,  we  repeat,  is,  substantially,  the  history  of 
its  long  decline  and  fall.  Physiologists  inform  us  that  life 
radiates,  or  acts  from  the  centre  outwards ;  and  that  on  ceas- 
ing to  expand,  it  ceases  to  exist.  And  history  affirms  that  na- 
tions flourish  only  while  they  continue  to  enlarge  their  bounds; 
that  the  tide  of  national  prosperity  no  sooner  ceases  to  flow 
than  it  begins  to  ebb.  Whether  these  statements  be  founded 
in  truth  or  not,  they  may  find  at  least  an  obvious  analogy  in 
the  history  of  the  church.  From  the  moment  it  lost  sight  of 
its  expansive  character,  it  began  to  lose  ground  to  the  world. 
The  strength  which  should  have  been  spent  in  conflict 
with  foes  without,  was  exhausted  in  fierce  contentions 
within.  When  it  ought  to  have  been  the  almoner  of  God  to 
the  world,  it  became  the  great  extortioner,  absorbing  the 
wealth  of  the  nations.  When  it  ought  to  have  been  the  chan- 
nel of  the  water  of  life  to  the  world,  it  became  a  stagnant 
reservoir,  in  which  the  very  element  of  life  corrupted  and  bred 
"  all  monstrous,  all  prodigious  things."  When  it  ought  to 
have  been  the  birthplace  of  souls,  it  was  the  grave  of  piety, 
so  that  in  order  to  live  it  was  necessary  to  leave  it.  And  at 
13* 


150  THE    HISTORY   OF   CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS. 

the  moment  when  it  should  have  been  giving  law  to  public 
opinion,  and  have  attained  the  mastery  of  the  world,  it  was 
actually  in  alliance  with  it  —  the  willing  and  accomplished 
agent  of  its  vilest  purposes. 

But  as  every  departure  of  the  church  from  its  missionary 
design  is  sure  to  be  avenged,  so  we  may  expect  that  every 
return  to  that  character  will  be  divinely  acknowledged  and 
blessed.  Had  we  no  facts  at  hand  to  prove  this,  the  injunc- 
tions which  our  Lord  gave  to  the  seven  Asiatic  churches  to 
repeat  their  first  works,  and  his  promises  of  prosperity 
if  they  did  so,  would  lead  us. to  infer  it;  the  uniformity  of 
the  divine  procedure  would  warrant  us  to  expect  it;  the  very 
return  itself,  implying  as  it  would  a  divine  influence,  would 
be  a  proof  of  it.  But  facts  are  at  hand.  The  history  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church  demonstrates  that  even  every  ap- 
parent return  to  first  principles  has  been,  in  so  far,  a  return 
to  outward  prosperity ;  that,  as  Machiavel  remarks,  the  king- 
dom of  the  hierarchy  would  have  been  sooner  at  an  end,  if 
the  reputation  of  the  friars  for  poverty  and  activity  had  not 
borne  out  the  scandal  of  the  excesses  and  inactivity  of  those 
above  them ;  that  no  sooner  have  symptoms  of  returning  vig- 
or appeared  in  one  part  of  that  church,  than  all  the  vital 
properties  which  it  still  contained  have  moved  off  in  that  par- 
ticular direction ;  that,  as  if  conscious  of  owing  its  continued 
existence  to  the  working  parts  of  its  body,  it  has  recently  (in 
1814)  repealed  the  order  of  Clement  XIV.,  which  restrained 
the  aggressive  activity  of  the  Jesuits,  and  is  already  exulting 
in  the  ecclesiastical  benefits  arising  from  the  change.  And 
while  facts  domonstrate  that  activity  will  keep  alive  even  a 
corrupt  system,  the  history  of  every  Protestant  Christian 
church  in  Christendom,  during  the  last  fifty  years,  clearly 
proves  that  every  return  to  spiritual  devotedness  is,  in  so 
far,  a  return  to  divine  prosperity.  If  we  ascertain  the 
measure  of  holy  activity  in  any  church,  we  have  ascertained 
the  measure  of  its  internal  prosperity ;  so  that  a  person  might 
at  any  time  safely  say,  Tell  me  which  branch  of  the  Chris- 
tian church  is  the  most  scripturally  active  and  aggressive  in 
its  spirit,  and  I  will  tell  you  which  is  the  most  prosperous. 

Before  we  proceed,  however,  to  examine  and  exhibit  the 
advantages  accruing  to  the  Christian  church  from  its  recent 
resumption,  in  part,  of  its  original  design,  it  will  be  proper 
to  furnish  a  brief  chronological  sketch  of  the  steps  by  which 
it  has  reached  its  present  activity ;  as  well  as  a  general  survey 


THE   HISTORY   OF  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS.  151 

of  modern  missionary  labors.  Thus  prepared,  we  shall  be 
the  better  qualified  to  enumerate  and  estimate  the  benefits 
with  which  those  labors  have  been  attended,  both  in  subserv- 
ing the  temporal  welfare  of  men,  and  in  promoting  the  higher 
objects  and  interests  of  the  church.  After  which  we  shall 
endeavor  to  connect  the  whole  with  the  preceding  Part,  and 
practically  to  apply  it,  by  showing  that  our  success  has  been 
fully  proportioned  to  our  efforts ;  that  advantages  have  flowed 
from  our  returning  activity  which  nothing  else  could  have 
conferred  ;  that  the  one  design  of  God,  in  conferring  that  suc- 
cess, is  to  animate  and  redouble  those  efforts ;  leaving  us  to 
infer  that  a  full  return  in  faith  and  prayer  to  the  aggressive 
design  of  the  Christian  church  would  be  a  full  return  to  its 
first  prosperity. 

II.  It  is  not  till  the  eighteenth  century  that  the  era  of 
Protestant  missions  can  be  said  to  have  commenced.  Not 
indeed  that  the  missionary  spirit  had  slumbered  in  the  church 
from  the  apostolic  age  till  then.  Every  intermediate  century 
had  witnessed  the  diffusion  of,  at  least,  nominal  Christianity. 
Although  as  early  as  the  third*  century  the  original  impulse 
given  to  the  progress  of  the  gospel  had  evidently  declined, 
in  the  fourth  we  find  Christianity  existing  in  Persia ;  become 
general  in  Armenia,f  where  it  had  been  introduced  as  early, 
probably,  as  the  second  century ;  carried  from  Armenia  into 
Iberia ;  rapidly  spreading  throughout  Ethiopia,  whither  it 
had  been  conveyed  by  Frumentius ;  and  published,  about  the 
year  350,  by  Theophilus,  at  the  instance  of  Constantine,  in 
the  south  of  Arabia.  In  314,  we  find  bishops  from  England 
present  at  the  council  of  Arelate.  How  much  earlier  the 
gospel  had  entered  Britain,  it  is  impossible  to  state.|     Proba- 

*  About  the  middle  of  the  second  century,  we  find  churches  in 
Gaul,  at  Lyons  and'Vienna.  (Euseb.  Hist.  Eccl.  b.  v.  chap.  1.)  In 
Africa,  Carthage  was  the  chief  seat  of  the  new  religion  ;  where,  ac- 
cording to  Tertullian,  (Apologet.  chap.  37,)  its  professors  were  so 
numerous,  that  to  extirpate  them  would  be  to  decimate  Carthage. 
In  the  East,  at  the  same  early  period,  Christianity  was  planted  at 
Edessa.  And  about  the  year  190,  according  to  Eusebius,  (b.  v.  chap. 
10,)  Pantsenus  went  from  Alexandria  to  proclaim  the  gospel  in  India. 

t  An  alphabet  and  a  translation  of  the  Bible  were  introduced  by 
Miesrob,  about  410. 

X  Those  who  would  assign  to  the  event  an  apostolic  date,  have 
little  ground  except  their  own  wishes.  That  the  apostle  Paul  visited 
England,  rests  on  the  ipse  dixit  of  Jerome,  a  Latin  father  of  the 
fourth  century. 


152  THE   HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS. 

bly,  as  Giesler*  suggests,  it  was  brought  from  Gaul  early  in 
the  second  century.  Through  the  instrumentality  of  Ulphilas, 
the  Visigoths  now  embraced  Christianity;  and  to  him  they 
were  indebted  also  for  an  alphabet  and  a  translation  of  the 
Bible.  The  Goths  had  probably  received  the  gospel  in  the 
century  preceding ;  for  in  the  early  part  of  this  century  we 
find  a  Gothic  bishop  at  the  council  of  Nice. 

The  fifth  century  was  signalized  by  the  nominal  conver- 
sion of  several  of  the  German  nations.  In  432,  Patricius,  a 
Scotsman,  induced  the  Irish  to  embrace  Christianity.  And 
in  496,  the  Franks  assumed  the  Christian  name,  and  induced 
the  Alemanni  to  follow  their  example.  In  the  sixth  century, 
Christianity  was  professedly  embraced  by  many  of  the  barba- 
rous nations  bordering  on  the  Euxine  Sea,  and  was  more 
widely  diffused  among  the  Gauls.  From  about  the  year  565 
to  599,  the  Irish  monk  Columban  labored  with  considerable 
success  among  the  Picts ;  t  and  in  596,  Augustine  succeeded 
in  converting  Ethelbert  to  the  profession  of  the  Christian 
faith ;  whose  example  was  immediately  followed  by  his  Anglo- 
Saxon  subjects  in  Kent,  and  soon  after  by  the  other  Anglo- 
Saxon  kings  of  England. 

Ecclesiastical  missionaries  from  England,  Scotland,  and 
Ireland,  carried  the  gospel,  in  the  seventh  century,  to  Batavia, 
Belgium,  and  several  of  the  German  nations.  Traces  of  its 
extensive  propagation,  by  the  Nestorian  Christians  of  Syria, 
Persia,  and  India,  are  also  to  be  found,  at  this  period,  in  the 
remotest  regions  of  Asia ;  and,  if  the  Monumentum  Syro-Syn- 
iciim  is  genuine,  it  obtained  a  footing  in  China  about  the  year 
636.  Tartary,  parts  of  Germany,  Friesland,  and  Saxony, 
were  the  principal  additions  to  the  domains  of  Christendom 
in  the  eighth  century.  In  the  ninth,  Denmark  and  Sweden, 
Bulgaria  and  Moravia,  professed  subjection  to  the  faith,  as 
well  as  parts  of  SlavoniaJ  and  of  Russia.  From  Moravia, 
the  gospel  was  carried  into  Bohemia.  In  the  tenth  century, 
the  rays  of  Christian  light  began  to  enter  Poland;  in  Hun- 
gary, Christianity  was  made  the  national  religion  by  a  royal 

*  Vol.  i.  §  37.  The  authorities  for  the  statements  above,  when  the 
works  are  not  specified,  are  derived  from  the  Ecclesiastical  Histories 
by  Mosheim,  Giesler,  and  Neander. 

t  Bede,  Eccl.  Hist.  b.  iii.  chap.  4. 

X  Cyril  of  Thessalonica,  and  his  brother  Methodius,  invented  the 
Slavic  alphabet,  and  translated  the  Bible,  and  some  Greek  and  Latin 
authors,  into  the  Slavic  tongue.     Balbini  Miscell.  part  i. 


THE    HISTORY   OF   CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  158 

decree  ;  and  in  Norway  —  where  it  had  been  first  introduced 
from  England  —  it  was  imposed  by  the  severest  measures. 
From  Norway  it  was  carried  into  Iceland,  the  Faro  and  Shet- 
land Islands,  and  even  to  Greenland. 

The  eleventh  century  saw  Christianity  established  as  the 
national  religion  of  Russia,  and  records  its  wider  diffusion 
in  the  East.  Conquest  and  conversion  had  now  come  to 
mean  nearly  the  same  thing ;  and  hence,  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, the  political  subjugation  of  Pomerania  was  followed  by 
its  nominal  subjection  to  the  Christian  faith ;  the  island  of 
Ruegen,  long  the  stronghold  of  heathenism,  was  subdued,  and 
its  inhabitants  baptized ;  and  the  conquered  Fins  were  com- 
pelled to  submit  to  the  same  rite.  The  nominal  church  was 
still  further  enlarged,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  by  the  forced 
submission  of  Prussia,  Livonia,  and  many  of  the  northern 
provinces;  as  well  as  by  the  recovery  of  portions  of  the  Sara- 
cenic territories  in  Spain.  The  fourteenth  century  was 
marked  by  the  professed  conversion  of  the  Lithuanians,  one 
of  the  last  of  the  heathen  nations  of  Europe  which  embraced 
Christianity ;  while  the  fifteenth  was  indelibly  stained  by  the 
forced  subjection  of  parts  of  the  newly-discovered  hemisphere. 
Towards  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Ignatius  Loyola 
founded  the  order  of  the  Jesuits ;  one  of  whose  grand  objects 
was  the  propagation  of  Christianity  among  heathens  and  infi- 
dels by  means  of  missionaries.  Accordingly,  the  missions 
of  the  Jesuits  form  an  important  part  of  the  history  of  their 
society.  Xavier  led  the  way  into  India  and  Japan ;  and, 
within  a  very  short  period,  the  agents  of  this  formidable  body 
spread  over  South  America,  and  penetrated  into  almost  every 
part  of  Asia.* 

It  is  historically  true,  indeed,  that  many  of  the  agents  em- 
ployed, from  century  to  century,  in  this  wide  diffusion  of  the 
gospel,  were   men    whose  wisdom,  piety,   and   zeal,   would 


*  Concerning  other  papal  missionary  institutions,  it  may  be  suffi- 
cient here  to  notice  the  college  de  propaganda  fide,  founded  at  Rome 
in  1622,  by  Gregory  XV.,  —  and  soon  enriched  with  ample  resources. 
Another  college,  — pro  fide  propaganda,  —  founded  in  1627,  by  Urban 
VIII.,  and  very  munificently  endowed,  appears  to  have  been 
merged,  in  1641,  in  the  preceding  institution.  In  1663,  Louis 
XIV.  instituted  the  Congregation  of  Priests  of  the  Foreign  Missions  ; 
while  an  ecclesiastical  association  founded  the  Parisian  seminary 
for  the  missions  abroad ;  and  the  apostolical  vicars  of  these  socie- 
ties were  soon  found  in  Siam,  Tonquin,  Cochin-China,  Persia,  &c. 


154  THE   HISTORY   OF   CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS. 

have  adorned  the  apostolic  age  ;  but  it  is  notoriously  known 
that  its  principal  instrumentality  consisted  of  worldly  policy 
and  martial  power ;  *  and  consequently  that  its  immediate 
results  were  only  territorial  aggrandizement  and  nominal 
submission.  Accordingly,  as  many  of  these  conquests  had 
been  made  by  the  sword,  by  the  sword  many  of  them  were 
subsequently  lost.  Civilization  itself,  at  one  period,  suffered 
a  decline.  Ages  of  darkness  rolled  over  the  church ;  until 
Christendom,  so  far  from  being  in  a  capacity  to  convert  the 
world,  stood  itself  in  the  most  urgent  need  of  substantial 
conversion. 

That  glorious  change,  of  which  the  signs  and  means  had 
long  been  gathering,  was  the  great  event  of  the  century  of 
which  we  are  now  speaking.  But,  essential  as  the  renovation 
of  the  church  was  to  the  conversion  of  the  world,  the  direct 
effect  of  the  reformation,  properly  so  called,  was  confined  to 
the  church  itself.  Indeed,  so  far  from  immediately  benefiting 
the  world,  its  primary  force  was  soon  exhausted  within  even 
a  small  circle  of  Christendom.  Nor  has  the  line  of  demar- 
kation  between  Protestantism  and  Popery  been  materially 
moved  during  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  which  have 
since  elapsed. 

The  seventeenth  century  was  an  age  of  missionary  prepara- 
tion and  promise.  The  close  of  the  preceding  century,  in- 
deed, had  witnessed  the  first  attempt,  on  the  part  of  Protes- 
tant Christians,  to  make  a  descent  on  heathenism.  The 
distinguished  honor  of  making  it  belongs  to  the  Swiss.  For, 
in  1556,  fourteen  missionaries  were  sent  by  the  church  of 
Geneva  to  plant  the  Christian  faith  in  the  newly-discovered 
regions  of  South  America.!  In  1559,  a  missionary  was  sent 
into  Lapland,  by  the  celebrated  Gustavus  Vasa,  king  of 
Sweden.  Early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  the  Dutch,  hav- 
ing obtained  possession  of  Ceylon,  attempted  to  convert  the 
natives  to  the  Christian  faith.  About  the  same  time,  many 
of  the  Nonconformists,  who  had  settled  in  New  England, 
began  to  attempt  the  conversion  of  the  aborigines.  Mayhew 
in  1643,  and  the  laborious  Eliot  in  1646,  devoted  themselves 

*  This  has  been  ably  shown,  as  far  at  least  as  the  latter  part  of  the 
period  referred  to  is  concerned,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Campbell,  in 
his  late  excellent  Treatise  on  "  Maritime  Discovery  and  Christian 
Missions." 

t  Picteti  Orat.  de  Trophseis  Christi  in  Fabricii  Lux  Salutaris  Evan 
gelii,  &c.  p.  586. 


THE    HISTORY   OF   CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  155 

to  this  apostolic  service.  In  1649,  during  the  Protectorate 
of  Cromwell,  was  incorporated,  by  Act  of  Parliament,  the 
"  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  New  England." 
In  1660  the  society  was  dissolved ;  but,  on  urgent  applica- 
tion, was  soon  restored ;  and  the  celebrated  Robert  Boyle  was 
appointed  its  first  governor.  The  zeal  of  this  distinguished 
individual  for  the  diffusion  of  the  gospel  in  India  and  America, 
and  among  the  native  Welsh  and  Irish ;  his  munificent  dona- 
tions for  the  translations  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  into  Malay 
and  Arabic,  Welsh  and  Irish,  and  of  Eliot's  Bible  into  the 
Massachusetts  Indian  language  ;  as  well  as  for  the  distribu- 
tion of  Grotius  de  Veritate  Christiance  Religionis ;  and, 
lastly,  his  legacy  of  c£5400  for  the  propagation  of  Christianity 
among  the  heathens,  entitle  him  to  distinct  attention.  In 
1698  was  instituted  the  "  Society  for  promoting  Christian 
Knowledge ; "  whose  objects  comprise,  to  a  certain  extent, 
the  labors  of  missionaries.  Its  missions,  chiefly  in  the  East, 
are  subsequently  associated  with  such  names  as  Ziegenbalg, 
Gericke,  and  Swartz.  And  besides  these  incipient  efforts  to 
diffuse  the  gospel,  glowing  sentiments  on  the  subject  are  to  be 
found  scattered  through  the  sermons  and  epistolary  corre- 
spondence of  the  age,  which  show  that  many  a  Christian  heart 
was  laboring  and  swelling  with  the  desire  of  greater  things 
than  these.  Still  the  century  closed  with  witnessing  little 
more  than  individual  and  unsustained  endeavors.  Had  they 
been  all  suddenly  arrested,  only  a  very  feeble  call  would  have 
been  made  for  their  resumption.  Like  the  repeated  flights 
of  the  dove  of  the  deluge,  they  served  to  show  that  there  was 
shut  up  within  the  ark  of  the  church  a  principle  of  activity 
impatient  to  be  free,  and  which  promised,  when  opportunity 
served,  to  traverse  the  globe. 

The  eighteenth  century  began  to  fulfil  that  promise,  and 
may  be  denominated  the  age  of  missionary  association.  In 
1701,  the  "  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts  "  was  chartered  ;  having  in  view  exclusively  the 
benefit  of  our  plantations  and  colonial  possessions.  In  1705, 
Frederic  the  Fourth,  king  of  Denmark,  was  induced,  by  one 
of  his  chaplains,  to  send  two  missionaries  to  Tranquebar,  on 
the  coast  of  Coromandel.  One  of  these,  Ziegenbalg,  may  be 
considered  almost  as  the  parent  of  the  Eastern  missions. 
The  Society  in  Scotland  for  "  Propagating  Christian  Knowl- 
edge" was  instituted  at  Edinburgh  in  1709.  The  philo- 
sophic  Dr.  Berkeley,  then   Dean   of  Derry,   published   his 


156  THE    HISTORY   OF   CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS. 

noble  proposal  for  the  erection  of  a  college  in  the  Bermudas, 
with  a  view  to  the  conversion  of  the  American  Indians ;  a 
plan  in  the  prosecution  of  which  he  displayed  a  degree  of 
self-denial,  generosity,  and  devotedness,  rarely  equalled. 
The  persevering  Egede  sailed  from  Bergen,  in  1721,  for  the 
coast  of  Greenland.  Influenced  partly  by  seeing  at  Copen- 
hagen two  Greenlanders  who  had  been  baptized  by  Egede, 
the  persecuted  Moravians  commenced  a  mission  to  the  same 
country  in  1741.  To  their  everlasting  honor,  and  to  the 
deep  disgrace  of  the  rest  of  the  Christian  community,  it  is  to 
be  remembered,  that  when  they  sent  out  their  first  mission- 
aries, their  entire  congregation  did  not  exceed  six  hundred 
persons,  and  that  of  these  the  greater  part  were  suffering 
exiles.  Yet  so  noble  and  extensive  were  the  exertions  which 
they  made  for  the  evangelization  of  the  heathen,  and  so 
abundantly  were  their  unostentatious  endeavors  blessed  by  the 
great  Head  of  the  church,  that  within  the  short  period  of  ten 
years  their  heralds  had  proclaimed  salvation  in  Greenland,  St. 
Croix,  Surinam,  and  Rio  de  Berbice ;  to  the  Indians  of  North 
America,  and  to  the  negroes  of  South  Carolina;  in  Lapland, 
Tartary,  and  Algiers ;  in  Guinea,  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
and  Ceylon. 

Brainerd  entered  the  field  of  missionary  labor  in  1743. 
In  the  year  1784,  at  a  Baptist  Association  held  at  Notting- 
ham, it  was  determined  that  one  hour  on  the  first  Monday 
evening  of  every  month  should  be  devoted  to  solemn  and 
special  intercession  for  the  revival  of  genuine  religion,  and 
for  the  extension  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  throughout  the 
world ;  hence  the  origin  of  Monthly  Missionary  Prayer  Meet- 
ings. Wesleyan  Methodism,  being  strictly  missionary  in  its 
character,  extended  its  operations  to  the  West  Indies  in  1786. 
The  "  Baptist  Missionary  Society  "  was  organized  in  1792. 
The  "  London  Missionary  Society,"  on  the  principle  of  em- 
bracing all  denominations,  arose  in  1795.  The  year  follow- 
ing, the  "  Edinburgh  Missionary  Society "  was  instituted. 
And  in  1801  arose  the  "  Church  Missionary  Society." 

From  this  brief  outline,  the  progress  of  Christian  associa- 
tion for  missionary  purposes  during  the  last  century  is  obvi- 
ous. Not  only  were  societies  organized  to  send  forth  and  to 
sustain  the  missionary  of  the  cross,  but,  unlike  several  pre- 
ceding organizations,  they  were  instituted  for  this  object 
alone.  While,  among  the  happiest  signs  which  accompanied 
their  formation,  it  may  be  remarked,  that  missionary  informa- 


THE    HISTORY    OF   CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  157 

tion  began  to  be  regularly  circulated  in  periodicals ;  that  ser- 
mons began  to  be  addressed  to  large  and  interested  audiences, 
exclusively  on  the  obligations  of  Christians  to  diffuse  the  gos- 
pel ;  that  the  people  generally  responded  to  the  call  by  their 
willing  contributions ;  and,  especially,  that  thousands  of  them 
met  at  stated  times  to  implore  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  on  the  new  field  of  missionary  labor ;  —  signs  which 
indicated  the  approach  of  yet  further  association,  and  of 
greater  enterprise,  for  the  recovery  of  man. 

The  missionary  character  which  will  belong  to  the  nine- 
teenth century  remains  to  be  seen  ;  for  one  half  of  its  sands 
have  not  yet  run  out.  Were  we  required,  however,  to  give  a 
descriptive  name  to  that  portion  of  it  which  has  elapsed,  we 
should  unhesitatingly  denominate  it  the  age  of  general  Chris- 
tian association  for  the  7nissionary  enterprise.  The  union  of 
Christians  for  this  great  object  has  yet  to  become  universal ; 
but  the  interest  felt  in  it  now,  compared  numerically  with 
that  which  existed  at  the  close  of  the  last  century,  may  be 
said  to  be  general.  The  object  could  not  be  suddenly  with- 
drawn from  the  Christian  world  now,  without  occasioning  a 
sensation  of  dismay  which  would  thrill  through  the  entire 
community,  and  which  would  raise  the  cry  of  tens  of  thou- 
sands for  its  return.  Its  presence  has  taken  the  rank  of  a 
new  power ;  and  its  absence  would  be  felt  as  a  great  general 
want. 

The  correctness  of  this  representation  will  be  seen  from  a 
further  enumeration  of  the  societies  which  the  missionary 
enterprise  has  originated.  The  "  Glasgow  Missionary  Soci- 
ety "  commenced  its  operations  soon  after  the  establishment 
of  the  London  Society.  In  1808  was  organized  the  "  So- 
ciety for  promoting  Christianity  among  the  Jews."  In  1816, 
a  Missionary  Seminary  was  established  at  Basle ;  the  interest 
in  which  continuing  to  increase  till  1821,  the  "  German  Mis- 
sionary Society  "  was  then  formed,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called, 
the  "  Evangelical  Missionary  Society."  In  1816,  also,  was 
formed  the  "  General  Baptist  Missionary  Society,"  in  distinc- 
tion from  that  of  the  particular  Baptist  body  of  1792.  As 
early  as  1799  a  missionary  spirit  was  awakened  in  various 
parts  of  Germany  ;  in  consequence  of  which,  first  Elberfield, 
and  then  Barmen,  originated  societies  for  the  contribution  of 
funds  to  missionary  and  kindred  institutions.  In  1828,  these 
societies  united,  and  having  been  since  joined  by  the  Socie- 
ties of  Cologne  and  Wesel,  they  together  form  the  "  Rhenish 
14 


153  THE    HISTORY    OF   CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS. 

Missionary  Society."  About  this  time,  also,  the  "  Netherland 
Missionary  Society  "  commenced  operations,  and  was  associ- 
ated with  the  name  of  the  enterprising  Gutzlaff.  And  in 
1822  was  organized  the  "  French  Protestant  Missionary  So- 
ciety." Nor  should  it  be  omitted,  that  the  claims  of  the  hea- 
then to  Christian  instruction  have  so  far  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  society  of  Friends,  that  they  have  commenced  a 
solitary  mission  to  Western  Africa. 

The  Missionary  Societies  of  America  demand  distinct  re- 
gard. The  land  of  the  Mayhews  and  of  Eliot,  of  Brainerd 
and  of  Sergeant,  could  never  be  entirely  lost  to  the  cause  of 
Missions  while  their  names  continued  to  be  revered,  and  their 
journals  to  be  read.  It  was  not,  however,  till  the  inspiring 
accounts  of  a  Carey,  a  Vanderkemp,  and  a  Buchanan,  had 
been  extensively  circulated,  that  American  piety  became 
divinely  awakened  to  its  claims.  With  that  awakening,  the 
names  of  Mills,  Judson,  and  their  coadjutors,  stand  vitally 
connected.  On  these  youthful  students  in  divinity,  the  mis- 
sionary spirit  had  eminently  rested ;  and,  having  presented  a 
memorial  on  the  subject  of  Missions  to  the  General  Associa- 
tion of  the  Ministers  of  Massachusetts  in  1810,  the  "  Ameri- 
can Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions"  was  formed 
the  same  year;  and  in  the  year  following  sailed  the  first 
mission  sent  from  America  to  any  foreign  heathen  land.  In 
1814  was  formed  the  "  American  Baptist  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions."  The  "  American  Methodist  Episcopal  Mission- 
ary Society"  followed  in  1819.  In  the  year  ensuing,  the 
"Domestic  and  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  "  commenced  its  oper- 
ations, and  in  1831  the  Presbyterian  Church  instituted  the 
"  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society." 

III.  Now,  in  marking  the  principal  circumstances  which 
have  accompanied  this  rapid  accumulation  of  missionary 
organization  within  the  last  forty  years,  and  which  may  be 
said  to  divide  its  brief  history  into  important  epochs,  we  may 
notice, — 

I.  The  formation  of  the  Tract  Society  in  1799,  and  the 
origin  of  the  Bible  Society  in  1804  —  institutions  which  have 
proved  the  right  arm  of  missionary  activity,  and  increased  its 
means  of  usefulness  to  a  very  considerable  extent.  2.  An 
important  era  for  missions  arrived  when  the  fact  was  practi- 
cally and  openly  admitted,  that  no  sect  or  denomination  of 


THE    HISTORY    OF   CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  159 

Christians  can  sustain  a  reputation  for  Christian  consistency 
without  laboring  to  extend  the  gospel  to  pagan  lands.  3.  The 
accession  of  the  American  churches  to  the  missionary  enter- 
prise was  another  and  a  glorious  stage  in  its  progress.  4.  But 
if  the  adhesion  of  Christians  to  this  object,  in  their  denomi- 
nations and  larger  divisions,  was  important,  equally  impor- 
tant was  it  to  be  able  to  announce  that  the  missionary  spirit 
had  descended  to  the  individual  members  of  the  particular 
churches  and  congregations  of  which  these  denominations 
are  composed,  and  had  created  for  itself  a  deep,  general, 
and  permanent  interest  in  the  mass.  5.  The  formation  of 
branch  and  auxiliary  societies,  by  which  the  cause  of  mis- 
sions becomes  located  among  a  people,  draws  them  gradually 
within  the  circle  of  its  action,  and  lays  all  the  piety  which 
may  exist  among  them  under  contribution  for  its  advance- 
ment, is  to  be  marked  as  another  leading  event.  6.  The  con- 
viction which  has  now  generally  obtained  that  the  mission- 
ary service  deserves  the  consecration  of  the  greatest  talent, 
and  the  most  marked  wisdom  and  piety,  which  the  churches 
can  supply,  is  a  distinct  indication  of  another  stage  in  the 
progress  which  that  service  is  making  in  public  opinion,  and 
is  full  of  promise  as  to  the  character  of  its  future  agency. 
7.  Another  era  in  its  history  was  the  employment  of  native 
agency,  and  the  project  of  instituting  colleges  abroad  with 
an  ultimate  view  to  the  education  of  that  agency  for  more 
efficient  service.  If  we  are  not  intending  to  furnish  the 
nations  with  an  adequate  supply  of  stated  preaching  from  our 
own  land,  and  for  generations  to  come,  the  heathen  must  be 
rendered  independent  of  Christendom  for  their  religious  in- 
structors as  soon  as  possible.  And  in  no  other  way  can  this 
be  done  than  by  taking  the  necessary  steps  for  raising  up  a 
native  ministerial  agency.  8.  And  another  important  step  in 
the  progress  of  missions  is  the  conviction  which  is  beginning 
to  obtain,  not  only  that  the  Christian  church  must  be  brought 
to  look  more  closely  and  practically  at  the  object  of  evan- 
gelizing the  earth,  but  that  for  this  end  it  must  act  on  a  sys- 
tem. The  more  vast  its  projects,  the  greater  the  necessity  of 
a  fixedness  of  design,  and  a  steady  adaptation  of  means  to 
the  end.  On  this  principle  it  is  that  an  American  Mission- 
ary Society  has  lately  presented  the  outline  of  a  plan  for  its 
own  operations,  the  filling  up  of  which,  under  the  divine 
sanction,  will  plant  four  or  five  hundred  stations  in  the  more 
eligible  parts  of  Africa  and  Asia,  as  well  as  thirty  or  forty 


160  THE    HISTORY   OF   CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS. 

theological  seminaries,  and  require  about  twelve  hundred 
ordained  missionaries,  and  three  hundred  laymen,  as  physi- 
cians, printers,  and  teachers.  Thus  the  most  enlarged  desires 
are  beginning  to  assume  that  distinctness  of  plan  which  is  es- 
sential to  their  wise  and  steady  prosecution. 

IV.  The  following  table  [p.  161]  contains  a  statistical  sur- 
vey of  our  principal  missionary  societies,  arranged  alphabeti- 
cally,* and  of  their  present  operations.  Other  societies  exist 
of  a  strictly  missionary  character ;  but  they  are  not  here  intro- 
duced, not  because  they  are  not  equally  meritorious  with 
those  named,  but  because  they  do  not  directly  contemplate 
the  conversion  of  the  heathen.  Such  are  the  Colonial  Mis- 
sionary Society ;  the  European  Society  for  aiding  the  Diffu- 
sion of  evangelical  Christianity  on  the  Continent  of  Europe ; 
and  the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Female  Education  in 
the  East. 

From  this  survey,  and  from  other  inquiries  made  by  the 
writer,  but  to  which  the  replies  have  not  been  sufficiently 
definite  to  justify  insertion,  it  will  be  seen  that  there  ^xist  at 
present,  in  Britain  and  America,  about  t  four  -Non- 

ary societies ;   of  which  seven  may  be  denomiir 
the  remaining  seven,  were  they  blended  in*'    f^.s 
much  more  than  equal  a  single  society  of  t*v 

That  the    annual    income  of  these  focil.    i    c 
about  <£505,000  ;  of  which  about  .£400,0' w>  •. 
by  British  Christians,  and  the  remainder 
of  America. 

That  the  number  of  missionaries  at  present  in  the  field 
of  labor  is  about  fifteen  hundred ;  and  that  these  missiona- 
ries occupy  about  twelve  hundred  principal  or  central  sta- 
tions. 

That  at  these  stations  are  to  be  found,  in  subordinate  co- 
operation  with  the  ordained  missionaries   from  Britain  and 

*  Where  a  dotted  line  occurs  in  the  table,  it  denotes  that  the  re- 
sults under  that  head,  if  there  are  any,  have  not  been  ascertained. 

t  Of  course,  these  figures  claim  to  be  regarded  only  as  an  approx- 
imation to  the  truth.  Even  the  income  of  one  society,  as  compared 
with  that  of  another,  is  to  be  understood  with  this  qualification,  that 
one  society  includes  in  its  general  accounts  the  pecuniary  support 
which  it  receives  for  a  particular  field  of  labor ;  for  the  prosecu- 
tion of  which,  perhaps,  another  Christian  denomination  maintains  a 
distinct  society.  In  this  summary  the  three  continental  societies 
are  omitted. 


THE    HISTORY   OF   CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS. 


161 


I   I 


>z  I"* 

3  2.  S  = 

ml 

fill 


2""       ? 

ST  s'i 
p  2.  : 

if  a 

™    =2. 

gift 

33 

If 


2.5 
1  5  I  = 


v.; 


Itif 

■  S3 


8  I8 

rg... 

03" 

3  11 
Ifl 

B  5.9 
c.  -3^. 

If 
rfi 


8  2.  S3"  3 


W?2, 
Iff 
111 


} 

1 
3 


0  2  n2 

3  S3 

M  I.W 

•S  §3 

5-  --S. 


q     s  ssas 


2.S 


—  ^! 
ft"     . 


>ft       - 


QjHjF"    ^3  o     ?  ►OS'??' 

3"S  2  oS  g  SOT'^i  2  = 


S3        C 


3     8 


s  =  s 


\u* 


Dale  of 
Formation. 


Central  or 
Principal 
Station*. 


Ordained 

Missiona- 

rie*. 


w*n  * 


7>r. r 


l1!' 


3  f?"S 

5_i 


3 -a 


S  -3  3.^°3  3*3. 
■»«      c 


21 


7?  5 


Hi 
3  "ft 


2       2    2g  2      2    ggS    2    2    2       2       2       2       2 


»*. 3    §  *mm  2  -  s     s     s 
IS  "S    I  1^1  1  I  1    "S     1 


~fi§    s  ls"8  S  I  18     "1     8 
14* 


Hi 

M  00 


Native 
Teacher*. 


Member*,  or 
Commu  ni- 
cant*. 


Printing 

Establith- 

ments. 


College*. 


162  TEMPORAL   BENEFITS   OF 

America,  about  five  thousand  native  and  other  salaried  teach- 
ers, catechistSj  readers,  helpers,  and  assistants  of  various 
kinds,  engaged  in  the  offices  of  education  and  religious  in- 
struction. That  about  fifty  of  these  stations  have  printing 
establishments. 

And  that  all  the  missions,  combined,  exhibit  about  180,000 
converts  in  Christian  communion  ;  and  about  200,000  chil- 
dren and  adults  belonging  to  their  schools. 

The  only  remark  which  it  would  here  be  in  place  to  add, 
is,  that  these  results  have  been  attained  gradually ;  that, 
taking  the  collected  reports  of  all  the  missionary  societies 
for  any  given  year,  they  will  be  found  to  exhibit  an  advance 
on  the  reports  of  the  year  preceding ;  leaving  us  to  indulge 
the  hope  that  by  the  same  blessing  by  which  they  have  been 
progressively  brought  to  their  present  state  of  enlargement, 
they  will  continue  to  report  an  annual  increase  of  resources, 
activity,  and  usefulness,  for  an  indefinite  number  of  years  to 
come.  The  practical  benefits  arising  from  missionary  labors 
will  next  become  the  subject  of  distinct  consideration. 


CHAPTER   II. 


ADVANTAGES      RESULTING     TO     THE     HEATHEN     FROM    THE 
MISSIONARY     ENTERPRISE. 


SECTION     1. 
TEMPORAL    BENEFITS. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  preceding  chapter  we  re- 
marked, that  such  are  the  gracious  arrangements  and  prom- 
ises of  God,  that  every  return  of  the  church  to  its  mission- 
ary design  entitles  it  to  hope  for  corresponding  prosperity. 
Having  taken  a  general  survey  of  the  manner  in  which  Chris- 
tians have  recently  resumed  their  missionary  vocation,  we 
are  the  better  prepared  to  look  after  the  expected  results  of 
their  activity. 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS.  163 

And  here,  the  first  fact  which  meets  us  on  opening  the 
inquiry  is,  that,  independently  of  the  direct  and  spiritual 
benefits  at  which  we  aimed,  a  host  of  minor  but  magnifi- 
cent temporal  advantages  have  been  gained,  and  which  alone 
would  have  amply  repaid  all  the  cost  of  the  missionary  effort. 
This  is  as  if,  in  attempting  to  estimate  the  benefits  of  the 
Savior's  mission,  a  contemporaneous  inquirer,  who  had  only 
heard  of  him  as  a  Teacher  sent  from  God,  and  had  only 
thought  of  spiritual  results,  should  have  had  to  make  his  way 
to  those  results  through  the  thronging  and  grateful  ranks  of 
those  who  had  been  healed,  and  who  insisted  on  presenting 
themselves  first,  as  a  part  of  the  fruits  of  that  mission.  And, 
indeed,  what  was  the  character  of  Christ,  but  the  character 
of  his  dispensation  ?  and  what  was  the  design  of  his  divine 
mission,  but  that  it  should  be  the  source  and  type  of  all  the 
good  attending  the  march  of  his  gospel  through  the  earth  1 

Accordingly,  we  find,  that  even  where  Christianity  has, 
for  obvious  reasons,  produced  but  slender  spiritual  results, 
the  inferior  benefits  which  it  has  scattered  have  rendered  its 
progress  through  the  nations  as  traceable  as  the  overflowing 
of  the  Nile  is  by  the  rich  deposit  and  consequent  fertility 
which  it  leaves  behind.*  This  is  a  well-known  subject  of 
devout  exultation  in  many  of  the  inspired  epistles.  The  apol- 
ogies of  the  Fathers  prove  it ;  and  the  records  of  profane 
history,  unintentionally,  but  abundantly,  confirm  it.  Every 
city  which  the  gospel  visited  presents  itself  in  proof  of  its 
corrective  influence ;  and  every  nation  we  enumerated  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  stands  forward  as  a  witness  to  the  same 
effect.  It  produced  charity  even  in  Judea,  humility  at  Athens, 
chastity  at  Corinth,  and  humanity  at  Rome  —  cleansing  her 
imperial  amphitheatre  of  human  blood,  and  evincing  that  her 
boasted  civilization  had  been  only  a  splendid  barbarism. 
Softened  by  its  influence,  the  Armenian,  says  Jerome,  lays 
down  his  quiver,  the  Huns  learn  to  sing  the  praise  of  God, 
the  coldness  of  Scythia  is  warmed  by  the  glow  of  faith,  and 
the  armies  of  the  Goths  carry  about  tents  for  churches.t 
Theodosius  and  Justinian  took  much  of  their  codes  from  its 
inspired  lips ;  and  thus  the  gospel  may  be  said  to  have  read 
laws  to  the  Visigoths  and  Burgundians,  the  Franks  and  Sax- 
ons, Lombards  and  Sicilians.     On  the  Irish,  as  well  as  on 

*   Vide  Ryan's  Effects  of  Religion  on  Mankind,  passim. 
t  Epist.  lvii. 


164  TEMPORAL    BENEFITS   OF 

many  other  nations,  it  bestowed  a  written  language,  and 
made  Ireland,  for  centuries,  the  university  of  Europe.  It 
raised  the  German  barbarian  into  a  man ;  and  elevated  the 
wandering  hordes  of  the  Saxons,  Marchomani,  and  Bohe- 
mians, into  civilized  communities.  It  approached  the  Dane, 
and  he  forgot  his  piratical  habits ;  and  the  Swede  and  the 
Norwegian  staid  within  their  own  boundaries,  and  ceased 
to  be  a  general  terror.  It  called  the  Russians,  Silesians,  and 
Poles,  to  take  rank  among  the  nations ;  won  the  Livonians 
and  Portuguese  from  their  idols ;  and  taught  the  Lithuanians 
a  worship  superior  to  that  of  reptiles,  or  of  the  sun. 

Virtue  went  out  of  it  in  every  age,  and  wherever  it  came. 
The  Roman  empire  was  rushing  to  ruin ;  the  gospel  arrested 
its  descent,  and  broke  its  fall.  Nearly  all  the  nations  of 
Europe  which  we  have  named,  were  sitting  at  a  feast  on  hu- 
man flesh,  or  immolating  human  victims  to  their  gods;  it 
called  them  away  from  the  horrid  repast,  and  extinguished 
their  unholy  fires.  The  northern  invasion  poured  a  new 
world  of  barbarism  over  Christian  lands ;  the  spirit  of  Chris- 
tianity brooded  over  the  chaotic  mass,  and  gradually  gave  to 
it  the  forms  of  civilized  life.  Where  it  could  not  sheathe 
the  sword  of  war,  it  at  least  humanized  the  dreadful  art.  It 
found  the  servant  a  slave,  and  broke  his  chains.  It  found 
the  poor  —  the  mass  of  mankind  —  trampled  under  foot ;  and 
it  taught  them  to  stand  erect,  by  addressing  whatever  is  di- 
vine in  their  degraded  nature.  It  found  woman  —  one  half 
of  the  species  —  in  the  dust;  and  it  extended  its  protecting 
arm  to  her  weakness,  and  raised,  and  placed  her  by  the  side 
of  man.  Sickly  infancy,  and  infirm  old  age,  were  cast  out  to 
perish;  it  passed  by,  and  bade  them  live;  preparing  for  each 
a  home,  and  becoming  the  tender  nurse  of  both. 

Yes,  Christianity  found  the  heathen  world  without  a  single 
house  of  mercy.*  Search  the  Byzantine  Chronicles,  and  the 
pages  of  Publius  Victor ;  and,  though  the  one  describes  all 
the  public  edifices  of  ancient  Constantinople,  and  the  other 
of  ancient  Rome,  not  a  word  is  to  be  found  in  either  of  a 
charitable  institution.     Search  the  ancient  marbles  in  your 

*  There  is  ground  to  believe  that  the  provision  by  some  of  the 
Greek  states  for  those  wounded,  and  for  the  children  of  those  slain 
in  battle,  flowed  from  martial  policy  alone  ;  and  that  the  Valetudina- 
rium  of  the  Romans  was  only  an  infirmary  for  the  sick  servants  and 
slaves  of  a  great  family.  Si  quis  sauciatus  in  opere  noxam  cepe- 
rit,i7i  valetudinarium  deducatur.  —  Col.  xi.  1.     Conf.  Sen.  Epist.  27. 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  165 

museums ;  descend  and  ransack  the  graves  of  Herculaneum 
and  Pompeii ;  and  question  the  many  travellers  who  have 
visited  the  ruined  cities  of  Greece  and  Rome ;  and  see  if, 
amidst  all  the  splendid  remains  of  statues  and  amphithea- 
tres, baths  and  granaries,  temples,  aqueducts,  and  palaces, 
mausoleums,  columns,  and  triumphal  arches,  a  single  frag- 
ment or  inscription  can  be  found  "  telling  us  that  it  belonged 
to  a  refuge  for  human  want,  or  for  the  alleviation  of  human 
misery."  The  first  voluntary  and  public  collection  ever 
known  to  have  been  made  in  the  heathen  world  for  a  chari- 
table object,  was  made  by  the  churches  of  Macedonia,  for 
the  poor  saints  in  Jerusalem.  The  first  individual  known  to 
have  built  a  hospital  for  the  poor  was  a  Christian  widow. 
Search  the  lexicons  for  interpreting  the  ancient  Greek  au- 
thors, and  you  will  not  find  even  the  names  which  divine 
Christianity  wanted,  by  which  to  designate  her  houses  of 
charity  —  she  had  to  invent  them.  Language  had  never  been 
called  on  to  imbody  such  conceptions  of  mercy.  All  the 
asylums  of  the  earth  belong  to  her. 

And  be  it  remembered,  that  Christianity  has  accomplished 
much  of  this,  under  circumstances  the  most  unfriendly  to 
success.  As  yet  it  has  had  but  a  very  limited  influence  even 
in  what  are  denominated  Christian  countries.  But  yet,  while 
bleeding  herself  at  a  thousand  pores,  she  has  saved  whole 
tribes  from  extermination,  and  comparatively  stanched  the 
flow  of  human  blood.  Though  a  prisoner  herself,  and  walk- 
ing in  chains,  she  has  yet  gone  through  the  nations,  pro- 
claiming liberty  to  the  captive,  and  the  opening  of  the  prison 
to  them  that  are  bound.  Even  when  Popery  had  converted 
her  creed  into  a  libel  on  her  name,  it  yet  contained  truths 
which  eclipsed  the  wisdom  of  Greece,  and  which  consigned 
the  mythology  of  Rome  to  the  amusement  and  ridicule  of 
childhood.  Even  there  where  her  character  was  most  mis- 
understood, so  high  had  she  raised  the  standard  of  morals, 
that  Socrates,  the  boast  of  Greece,  would  have  been  deemed 
impure ;  and  Titus,  the  darling  of  Rome  and  of  mankind, 
would  have  been  denounced  as  a  monster  of  cruelty.  When 
disfigured  to  a  degree  which  would  have  made  it  difficult  for 
her  great  apostle  to  have  recognized  her,  yet,  like  him,  she 
went  about  "  as  poor,  yet  making  many  rich,  as  having  noth- 
ing, and  yet  possessing  all  things."  Herself  the  victim  of 
universal  selfishness,  she  yet  left  on  every  shore  which  she 
visited  everlasting  monuments  that  she  had  been  there,  in  the 


166  TEMPORAL   BENEFITS    OF 

hospitals  and  edifices  of  charity  which  lifted  up  their  heads, 
and  in  the  emollient  influences  which  stole  over  the  heart  of 
society. 

We  are  warranted  in  affirming,  then,  that,  as  far  as  the 
temporal  welfare  of  man  is  concerned,  the  history  of  the  past 
demonstrates  that  even  the  worst  form  of  Christianity  is  pref- 
erable to  the  very  best  form  which  heathenism  ever  knew. 
Who  has  not  heard,  for  instance,  of  the  atrocities  which  men 
called  Christians  committed  in  her  abused  name  in  South 
America?  Yet  even  there,  though  her  pretended  priesthood 
was  an  army,  and  though  they  hewed  their  path  with  the 
sword,  her  humanizing  influence  was  quickly  felt.  No  lon- 
ger are  wives  buried  with  their  deceased  husbands  in  Congo ; 
nor  do  the  aborigines  of  Florida  quench  the  supposed  thirst 
of  their  idol  with  human  blood.  At  Metamba  they  no  longer 
put  the  sick  to  death ;  nor  sacrifice  human  victims  at  funer- 
als in  Angola.  No  longer  do  the  inhabitants  of  New  Spain 
offer  the  hearts  of  men  in  sacrifice,  nor  drown  their  children 
in  a  lake  to  keep  company  with  the  idol  supposed  to  reside 
within  it. 

But  why  do  we  speak  of  other  lands  ?  Britain  itself  owes 
every  thing,  under  God,  to  the  influence  of  the  gospel.  The 
cruelties  of  Rome  did  not  humanize,  nor  the  northern  super- 
stitions enlighten  us.  The  missionary  who  first  trod  our 
shores  found  himself  standing  in  the  very  temple  of  Druid- 
ism.  And  wherever  he  turned,  he  heard  the  din  of  its  noisy 
festivals,  saw  the  obscenity  of  its  lascivious  rites,  and  beheld 
its  animal  and  human  victims.  But  Christianity  had  marked 
the  island  for  its  own.  And  although  its  lofty  purposes  are 
yet  far  from  being  worked  out  on  us,  from  that  eventful  mo- 
ment to  the  present,  the  various  parts  of  the  social  system 
have  been  rising  together.  Even  when  most  at  rest,  its  influ- 
ence has  been  silently  penetrating  the  depths  of  society. 
When  most  enfeebled  and  corrupted  itself,  its  authority  has 
been  checking  the  progress  of  social  corruption,  rendering 
law  more  protective,  and  power  more  righteous.  When  most 
disguised  and  repressed,  its  wisdom  has  been  modifying  our 
philosophy,  and  teaching  a  loftier  system  of  its  own.  A 
Howard,  sounding  and  circumnavigating  the  ocean  of  human 
misery,  is  only  an  obedient  agent  of  its  philanthropy.  A 
Clarkson  and  a  Wilberforce  have  only  given  utterance  to  its 
tender  and  righteous  appeals  for  the  slave.  A  Raikes,  a  Bell, 
and  a  Lancaster,  have  simply  remembered  its  long-neglected 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS.  167 

injunction,  "  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me."  While 
all  its  Sabbaths,  Bibles,  and  direct  evangelical  ministrations, 
are  only  the  appropriate  instrumentality  by  which  it  has  ever 
been  seeking  to  become  the  power  of  God  to  our  salvation, 
and  preparing  us  for  the  office  to  which  Providence  is  now 
distinctly  calling  us,  to  be  the  Christian  ministers  and  mis- 
sionaries of  mankind. 

To  have  predicted,  then,  at  the  commencement  of  modern 
missions,  that  the  diffusion  of  the  gospel  would  be  attended 
with  the  diffusion  of,  at  least,  temporal  good,  would  only 
have  been  making  the  past  the  prophet  of  the  future.  Let  us 
proceed  to  inquire  how  fir  such  a  prediction  would  have  been 
verified  by  actual  results. 

1.  Judging  from  the  costly  price  at  which  civilized  nations 
have  purchased  distinction,  it  would  seem  that  it  is  no  small 
advantage  to  be  known.  Now,  there  are  some  tribes  of  the 
human  family  which  are  indebted  to  Christian  missions  for 
their  discovery.  The  first  vessel  known  to  have  visited  the 
islands  of  Mitiaro,  Mauke,  and  Rarotonga,  was  steered  by  a 
missionary  of  the  cross ;  while  other  islands,  though  dis- 
covered, had  not  been  visited,  or,  though  visited,  had  remained 
almost  entirely  unknown,  until  sought  out  by  Christian  per- 
severance and  compassion  ;  so  that,  hereafter,  when  they 
shall  have  acquired  historical  importance,  they  will  have  to 
record  that  they  were  called  from  their  original  obscurity  by 
the  servants  of  Him  who  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which 
was  lost. 

2.  As  the  primary  object  of  the  Christian  missionary  is  to 
bring  the  heathens,  to  whom  he  is  sent,  under  the  influence 
of  the  gospel,  it  is  important  that,  if  they  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  roam  from  place  to  place,  they  should  renounce  their 
wandering  habits,  and  adopt  a  settled  abode.  And,  hence, 
one  of  the  first  and  necessary  consequences  of  a  desire  to 
hear  a  "  man  of  God,"  is,  a  disposition  to  locate  themselves 
in  his  vicinity.  This  is  the  first  step  of  their  transition  from 
a  horde  of  the  wilderness  to  a  civilized  community.  But 
this  has  been  the  almost  uniform  effect  of  the  introduction  of 
the  gospel  among  such  a  people.  Who  does  not  here  think 
of  the  dwellings  of  Nonanetum  rising  around  Eliot  in  the 
wilderness  ?  of  the  twelve  Indian  villages  of  Zeisberger  ?  of 
Brainerd's  Indians  coming  from  the  far-off  forks  of  the  Dela- 
ware to  his  beloved  Crossweeksung  ;  killing  a  supply  of  deer 
that  they  might  be  able  to  listen  to  him  for  days  together 


168  TEMPORAL    BExNEFITS    OF 

without  interruption ;  and  then  "  building  themselves  little 
cottages"  up  to  "his  own  door"?  and  of  the  Esquimaux 
coming  from  Okkak,  as  far  as  to  the  Moravian  settlement  at 
Hopedale  ?  "  where,"  said  the  missionary,  "  our  congrega- 
tions are  blooming  like  a  beautiful  rose."  Not  more  certainly 
was  the  erection  of  the  tabernacle  in  the  wilderness  a  signal 
for  the  Israelites  to  pitch  their  tents  around  it,  than  the  suc- 
cessful introduction  of  the  gospel  among  a  roving  and  un- 
civilized tribe  has  led  to  their  settlement.  The  North  Ameri- 
can Indian  emerging  from  his  filthy  wigwam,  the  Green- 
lander  leaving  his  burrow  in  the  snow,  —  compared  with  which 
the  den  of  the  bear  itself  is  inoffensive,  —  and  the  Hottentot 
coming  in  from  the  bush,  have  alike  proceeded  to  prepare  for 
themselves  comfortable  abodes.  The  New  Zealander  may  be 
seen  making  bricks,  and  the  South  Sea  Islander  burning 
lime,  for  the  erection  of  a  house.  "  The  traveller  through 
the  Cherokee  settlements,"  says  the  Report  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Mission  in  America  for  1835,  "  observing  cottages 
erected,  regular  towns  building,  farms  cultivated,  the  Sabbath 
regularly  kept,  and  almost  an  entire  change  in  the  character 
and  pursuits  of  the  people,  is  ready  to  ask  with  surprise, 
1  Whence  this  mighty  change  ? '  Our  only  answer  is,  Such 
is  the  effect  of  the  gospel.  Here  is  a  nation  at  our  door,  our 
neighbors,  of  late  remarkable  for  their  ferocity  and  ignorance, 
now  giving  the  most  striking  evidence  of  the  utility  of  mis- 
sionary exertions." 

And  "  instead  of  their  [the  South  Sea  Islanders]  little  con- 
temptible huts  along  the  sea-beach,  there  will  be  seen  a  neat 
settlement,  with  a  large  chapel  in  the  centre,  capable  of  con- 
taining one  or  two  thousand  people ;  a  school-house  on  the  one 
side,  and  the  chiefs  or  the  missionary's  house  on  the  other,  and 
a  range  of  white  cottages,  a  mile  or  two  long,  peeping  at  you 
from  under  the  splendid  banana-trees,  or  the  bread-fruit 
groves;  so  that  their  comfort  is  increased,  and  their  character 
is  elevated."  * 

3.  But  when  the  wanderers  of  the  wilderness  or  of  the 
plain  become  localized,  their  erection  of  permanent  dwellings 
supposes  many  a  previous  step  of  instruction  and  improve- 
ment ;  their  new  condition  entails  on  them  wants  which  they 
never  knew  before ;  and  labor  becomes  necessary  in  order  to 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  before  a  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons  in  1833-35,  p.  307. 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS. 


169 


supply  them.  Accordingly,  all  the  more  useful  ainong  the 
arts  and  trades  of  civilized  life  are  to  be  found  accompany- 
ing the  progress  of  the  gospel.  In  the  schools  of  Sierra 
Leone,  the  girls  are  taught  to  spin  cotton,  and  the  boys  to 
weave.*  Even  the  New  Hollander  may  be  seen  ploughing 
and  reaping  for  the  missionary,  and  planting  corn,  melons, 
and  pumpkins  for  himself.t  The  journal  of  a  missionary 
catechist  at  New  Zealand  records  his  daily  superintendence 
of  the  natives  while  occupied  in  the  various  labors  of  the 
blacksmith's  shop,  of  house-building,  and  of  the  plough. 
The  testimony  of  Lieutenant  Stockenstrom,  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor of  the  eastern  division  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  im- 
ported, that  the  land  at  Kat  River  was  cultivated,  "  to  the 
astonishment  of  every  body  who  visited  it,  in  proportion  to 
the  strength  and  means  of  the  Hottentots."  J  "  At  the  sta- 
tion where  I  live,"  said  the  head  of  the  Moravian  Missionary 
Institution  in  South  Africa,  "  one  half  of  the  population  sub- 
sists by  working  at  mechanical  arts  —  cutlers,  smiths,  joiners, 
turners,  masons,  carpenters,  shoemakers,  tailors,  and  so  on."  § 
"  We  have  ploughing,  wagonmakers,  and  shoemakers,  and 
other  tradesmen  amongst  us,"  said  Andrew  StofFel,  a  Hotten- 
tot ;  "  we  can  make  all  those  things  except  a  watch,  and  a 
coach."  ||  The  following  is  a  concise  enumeration  of  the 
useful  arts,  the  animals,  and  the  vegetable  productions,  which 
have  been  introduced  by  the  missionaries  into  the  various 
stations  they  have  occupied  in  the  South  Seas :  — 


USEFUL  ARTS. 

VEGETABLE     PRODUCTIONS. 

ANIMALS. 

Smith's  work. 

A  variety  of  valuable  es- 

Goats. 

House-building. 

culents. 

Sheep. 

Ship-building. 

Pumpkins,  melons, 

sweet 

Horses. 

Lime-burning. 

potatoes,  &c. 

&c 

Asses. 

Turning. 

Oranges,       lemons, 

and 

Cattle,  &c. 

Sofa,  chair,  and  bed- 

limes. 

Pigs,  into  sev- 

stead making. 

Pine-apples. 

eral  islands 

Growth    and    manu- 

Custard apples. 

Turkeys. 

facture  of  tobacco. 

Coffee. 

Geese. 

Sugar-boiling. 

Cotton. 

Ducks,  &c. 

Printing. 

Indigo. 

Fowls.1T 

4.  When  the  missionary  has  thus  put  a  newly-reclaimed 
people  in  the  way  of  providing  for  their  immediate  wants,  it 


*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  89. 

t  Idem,  p.  110.      ±  Idem,  p.  353.      §  Idem,  p,  355.     ||  Idem,  p.  360. 
U  Williams's  Missionary  Enterprise,  pp.  578,  579. 
15 


170  TEMPORAL    BENEFITS   OF 

might  be  supposed  that  the  next  step  would  be  to  devote 
every  moment  of  their  leisure,  which  could  be  spared  from 
their  religious  instruction,  to  their  mental  education.  Hav- 
ing taught  them  the  alphabet  of  civilization,  the  alphabet  of 
their  own  language  would  seem  naturally  to  follow.  But 
perhaps  the  language  is  without  an  alphabet.  In  many  in- 
stances, the  modern  missionary ,  like  an  Ulphilas,  a  Patricius, 
and  a  Cyril  of  earlier  times,  has  given  to  the  people  a  written 
language.  From  the  time  when  the  "Indian  Evangelist" 
reduced  the  Massachusetts  Indian  language*  to  form,  in 
1660,  down  to  the  present  day,  when  the  New  Zealander, 
the  Caffre,  and  the  Rarotongian,  are  just  beginning  to  learn 
the  written  signs  of  their  respective  tongues,  this  is  a  benefit 
which  the  Christian  missionary  has  often  conferred.  With 
scarcely  any  aid  besides  that  which  they  derive  from  the  oral 
and  uncertain  explanations  of  the  natives,  the  missionaries  of 
a  single  American  society  have  constructed  the  framework 
of,  at  least,  seven  languages  from  the  foundation ;  forming 
the  alphabet,  determining  the  orthography,  arranging  the 
grammar,  and  presenting  the  whole  in  a  written  form;  and, 
where  circumstances  have  required,  other  societies  have  been 
proportionally  useful  in  conferring  on  the  heathen  the  same 
benefit.  Qualified  missionaries  are  employed  at  the  present 
time  in  reducing  to  a  written  form  the  Australian,  Foulah, 
Mandingo,  and  other  languages.  In  this  way,  Christian  mis- 
sions are  incidentally  laying  the  foundation  for  all  the  litera- 
ture which  the  millions  of  these  various  nations  may  ever 
possess.  Besides  which,  the  treasures  contained  in  the 
Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin,  French,  German,  and  English  lan- 
guages are  in  the  process  of  transmission  into  all  the  written 
and  unwritten  tongues  which  our  missionaries  employ. 

5.  The  next  step  in  the  civilizing  process,  is  education. 
As  the  missionary  does  not  address  the  heathen  in  his  own 
name,  but  in  the  name  of  God,  and  as  the  book  containing 
the  will  of  God  is  made  ready  to  their  hands,  what  more  nat- 
ural than  a  mutual  anxiety  that  they  should  be  able  to  consult 
it?  Accordingly,  as  soon  as  possible,  every  mission  opens 
its  infant,  youth,  and  adult  schools  ;  and  the  natives  generally 
both  hasten  to  it  themselves,  and  send  their  children.  About 
two  hundred  thousand  children  and  adults  are  now  receiving 

*  Of  which  Mather  said  that  the  words  looked  as  if  they  had  been 
growing  ever  since  the  confusion  of  Babel. 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  171 

instruction  through  the  agency  of  missionaries ;  perhaps 
nearly  an  equal  number  have  already  enjoyed  it.  Here  may 
be  seen  the  infant  learner,  who,  but  for  the  timely  interposi- 
tion of  the  Christian  missionary,  would  have  been  immolated, 
as  all  his  brothers  and  sisters  had  been  ;  and  there  may  be 
seen  the  hand  that  would  have  done  it,  tracing  the  alphabet. 
Here,  the  parent  is  seen  learning  of  his  child ;  and  there,  the 
female  is  seen  imparting  instruction,  where,  once,  her  pres- 
ence would  have  been  deemed  pollution,  and  have  incurred 
her  destruction.  Who  does  not  prospectively  recognize  in 
many  of  those  youthful  pupils  the  future  instructor  of  other 
tribes,  and  the  missionary  to  distant  lands  1  Who  does  not 
see  in  many  of  those  schools  the  promise  of  theological 
seminaries,  and  the  germ  of  future  colleges  ?  And  in  the 
press,  with  which  many  of  them  are  connected,  who  does 
not  recognize  the  sure  prevention  of  a  return  to  barbarism, 
and  the  foundation  of  national  cultivation  and  of  future  men- 
tal greatness? 

6.  Education  tends,  in  a  variety  of  ways,  to  create  a  de- 
mand for  the  institution  of  laios.  By  teaching  them  to  read, 
a  people  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  customs  and  advantages 
of  law  in  civilized  lands;  by  enlightening  their  minds,  such 
knowledge  shows  them  the  evils  which  they  have  suffered 
from  the  want  of  law ;  by  quickening  their  moral  nature,  it 
awakens  a  craving  after  a  rule  to  walk  by  ;  and,  by  thus 
humanizing  them,  it  prepares  them  to  conform  to  the  law 
enacted.  Hence  the  missionary,  as  their  only  adviser  and 
friend,  is  often  called  on  to  become,  in  effect,  their  lawgiver. 
The  Cherokees  of  North  America,*  and  the  Caffres  of  the 
Little  Namaquas,  have  their  respective  codes.f  The  Sand- 
wich Islands  recognize  the  authority  of  law.  Formerly,  in 
the  Island  of  Rarotonga,  "  the  king,  when  a  thief  was  caught 
upon  his  premises,  would  have  him  cut  up,  and  portions  of 
his  body  hung  in  different  parts  of  the  farm  on  which  the 
depredation  had  been  committed.  But  when  Christianity 
was  embraced  by  them,  they  saw  immediately  that  such  san- 
guinary proceedings  were  inconsistent  with  the  benign  spirit 
of  the  gospel,  and  they  inquired  of  us  what  would  be  done  in 
England,  and  what  was  consistent  with  the  Christian  pro- 
fession. We  informed  them  that  there  were  judges  in  Eng- 
land, and  all  such  offences  were  tried  regularly,  and  particular 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  51.  t  Idem,  p.  157. 


172  TEMPORAL    BENEFITS   OF 

punishments  awarded.  They  immediately  said,  '  Will  it  not 
be  well  for  us  to  have  the  same  ? '  and,  after  months'  and 
months'  consultation  with  them,  and  explaining  those  things 
to  them,  a  very  simple  code  was  drawn  up."  *  The  Tahitians 
have  also  a  simple,  explicit,  and  wholesome  code  of  laws,  as 
the  result  of  their  imbibing  the  principles  of  Christianity. 
This  code  of  laws  is  printed  and  circulated  among  them, 
understood  by  all,  and  acknowledged  by  all,  as  the  supreme 
rule  of  action  for  all  classes  in  their  civil  and  social  relations. 
The  laws  have  been  productive  of  great  benefits  ;t  and  of 
these  benefits  all  the  Society  Islands  are  more  or  less  par- 
takers. To  the  practical  working  of  these  laws,  impartial 
and  ample  testimony  has  been  borne  as  to  "  one  of  the  great- 
est temporal  blessings  they  have  derived  from  the  introduction 
of  Christianity."  J  By  making  the  New  Testament  the  basis 
of  their  civil  enactments,  they  have  placed  their  government 
under  the  divine  protection,  and  laid  a  foundation  for  lasting 
national  prosperity. 

7.  To  say  that  the  gospel  has  erected  a  standard  of  moral- 
ity among  those  of  whom  we  are  speaking,  is  only  to  state 
what  is  clearly  implied  in  the  paragraph  preceding ;  for  it  is 
not  until  men  are  becoming  a  law  unto  themselves,  that  they 
begin  to  think  of  enacting  rules  for  their  own  conduct,  or  for 
that  of  others.  To  say  that  they  have  been  rendered  moral, 
compared  with  their  idolatrous  fellow-countrymen,  would  be 
to  fall  far  short  of  the  truth ;  in  many  respects  their  example 
is  a  loud  lecture  on  morality  to  the  civilized  Briton.  Not  in 
vain  has  the  Bible  said  to  the  Sandwich  Islanders,  "  Thou 
shalt  not  commit  adultery."  Having  enacted  a  law  in  1825, 
prohibiting  the  sins  which  violate  that  law,  and  having  ex- 
tended it  to  foreign  visitors  as  well  as  to  themselves,  "  the 
rage  of  the  former,  who  came  in  the  ships  in  the  autumn  of 
the  year,  was  such,  that  they  could  scarcely  be  restrained 
from  acts  of  the  most  violent  outrage."  "  Once,"  write  the 
missionaries,  "  we  thought  a  single  couple  would  be  exposed 
to  insult  from  the  natives ;  now  the  natives  are  a  defence 
from  lawless  foreigners,  to  whose  violence  we  are  all  ex- 
posed." §  Not  in  vain  has  the  gospel  said  to  the  New  Zea- 
lander,  "  Let  him  that  stole  steal  no  more."  "  Ten  years  ago, 
a  person  scarcely  dared  to  lay  a  tool  down,  as  it  was  almost 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  300. 
t  Idem,  p.  180.  t  Idem,  p.  182.  §  Idem,  pp.  42—44. 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  173 

sure  to  be  stolen ;  now,  locks  and  bolts  are  but  little  used, 
and  but  little  needed ;  working  tools  are  safe,  although  lying 
in  all  directions."  *  Not  in  vain  for  the  Hottentot  and  the 
Tahitian  has  the  Bible  denounced  drunkenness.  The  former 
has  petitioned  from  Kat  River  that  no  canteens  might  be 
allowed  in  the  settlement ;  the  latter  has  enacted  a  law  which 
prohibits  trade  with  ships  which  come  for  the  purpose  of 
introducing  ardent  spirits;  and,  indeed,  the  Island  of  Po- 
rapora  is  the  only  one  that  retains  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  in 
the  whole  of  the  Tahitian  and  Society  Island  group.t  The 
Honorable  Justice  Burton  informed  Doctor  Philip  of  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  after  a  circuit  tour,  that  he  had  made 
three  journeys  over  the  colony  as  a  circuit  judge ;  that, 
during  these  circuits,  he  had  had  nine  hundred  cases  before 
him,  and  that  only  two  of  these  cases  were  connected  with 
Hottentots  who  belong  to  missionary  institutions,  and  that 
neither  of  them  was  an  aggravated  case.  On  a  comparison 
of  the  population  at  the  missionary  stations  with  that  of  the 
rest  of  the  colony  which  was  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
circuit  court,  the  fact  stated  by  the  judge  marked  the  propor- 
tion of  the  crimes  as  one  to  thirty-five.J 

8.  If,  in  some  instances,  heathen  tribes  are  indebted  to 
Christian  missionaries  for  their  discovery,  in  still  more,  prob- 
ably, have  they  been  saved,  by  the  same  agency,  from  extinc- 
tion. A  competent  witness  testifies,  in  his  "  Evidence  on  the 
Aborigines,"  §  that  "  wherever  the  gospel  has  not  been  intro- 
duced among  the  Indians  of  Upper  Canada,  there  the  process 
by  which  the  diminution  of  their  numbers  is  effected  is  stead- 
ily going  on  ;  but  wherever  Christianity  has  been  established, 
there  a  check  has  been  opposed  to  the  process  of  destruction ; 
and  on  the  older  stations,  among  the  tribes  that  have  been 
the  greatest  length  of  time  under  the  influence  of  Christian 
principles,  there  the  proportion  has  begun  somewhat  to  in- 
crease." The  missionary  establishments  have  "  unquestiona-< 
bly  done  much  good,"  said  Major  Dundas,  ||  "  in  bringing 
together,  and  in  keeping  together,  the  wrecks  of  the  Hottentot 
nation."  The  depopulation  of  the  Sandwich  and  South  Sea 
Islands,  since  the  time  of  their  discovery  by  Captain  Cook,  is 
truly  fearful.     His  estimate  of  the  number  of  the  inhabitants 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  119. 
t  Idem,  pp.  351,  301,  276. 
;  Tract  Society  publication. 
§  P.  145.  II  Idem,  p.  347. 

15* 


174  TEMPORAL   BENEFITS   OF 

was  probably  much  too  high ;  but,  within  the  memory  of  the 
missionaries,  the  prevalence  of  wars  of  extermination,  of 
infanticide,  and  the  introduction  of  European  diseases  and 
vices,  had  reduced  the  population  of  some  of  the  islands  from 
thousands  to  hundreds,  and  of  others  from  hundreds  to  tens. 
But  the  Christian  missionary  "  stood  between  the  dead  and 
the  living,  and  the  plague  was  stayed."  Since  Christianity 
has  prevailed  among  the  people,  there  has  been  a  reaction  ; 
the  population  is  supposed  to  have  increased  about  one  fourth. 
Thus  the  gospel  came  between  them  and  annihilation.* 

9.  Missionaries  frequently  act  the  part  of  mediators  between 
chiefs  and  tribes  at  variance,  and  have  thus  been  the  means 
of  arresting  many  a  sanguinary  conflict,  and  of  reconciling 
the  parties  to  each  other.  On  some  of  these  occasions  they 
volunteer  their  mediation,  bring  the  hostile  chiefs  together, 
and  continue  to  exert  their  peaceful  influence,  till  a  friend- 
ship is  effected.  But  so  well  is  their  peace-making  character 
known,  and  so  highly  is  it  esteemed,  even  by  those  natives 
who  have  not  embraced  Christianity,  that  they  are  often  sent 
for  to  interpose ;  and,  generally,  from  the  moment  they  come 
between  the  parties  at  issue,  the  breach  is  considered  to  be 
as  good  as  healed.  Even  when  the  hostile  ranks  have  been 
confronted,  with  thousands  on  a  side,  ready  at  a  word  to  rush 
in  savage  and  deadly  encounter,  the  missionary  has  pitched 
his  tent  of  peace  between,  and,  for  days  together,  has  gone 
from  tribe  to  tribe,  and  from  chief  to  chief,  till  they  came  to 
a  resolution  of  peace. t 

10.  But,  if  the  Christian  missionary  confers  a  benefit  on 
heathen  tribes  in  preventing  wars  of  extermination,  and  saving 
them  from  extinction,  still  more  does  he  serve  them,  accord- 
ing to  the  ordinary  mode  of  calculation,  by  rescuing  their 
mental  character  from  undeserved  ignominy,  and  restoring 
them  to  the  rank  of  our  common  humanity.  A  false  philo- 
sophy, while  complacently  monopolizing  all  the  genuine 
philanthropy  to  be  found  in  the  world,  has  yet  most  strangely 
evinced  its  phifanthropy  by  consigning  a  large  proportion  of 
the  species  to  neglect  and  extermination,  as  irreclaimably  de- 
generate and  savage.  The  advocates  of  such  a  philosophy, 
while  affecting  this  superiority  over  their  brother  savage,  must 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  pp.  51,  292. 

t  Missionary  Enterprises,  p.  457  j  and  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines, 
pp.  15,  211—218. 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS.  175 

have  forgotten  that  those  very  airs  are  among  the  certain 
marks  of  an  imperfect  civilization ;  that  they  are  shared  by 
every  untutored  tribe  on  the  face  of  the  earth;  and  that 
there  was  a  time,  in  the  history  of  Britain,  when  the  ances- 
tors of  those  very  philosophers  were  deemed  by  similar  phi- 
losophers at  Rome  to  be  too  stupid  even  for  slaves  —  when 
Cicero  could  advise  his  friend  Atticus  not  to  obtain  his  slaves 
from  Britain,  "  because  they  are  so  stupid,  and  utterly  inca- 
pable of  being  taught,  that  they  are  unfit  to  form  a  part  of  the 
household  of  Atticus."  But  that  which  the  gospel  effected 
for  us,  its  modern  missionaries  are  accomplishing,  under  God, 
for  the  slandered  heathen  of  the  present  day.  The  Moravian 
missionaries  soon  discovered,  when  the  gospel  began  to  affect 
the  Greenlander,  that  his  previous  condition  had  been  one, 
not  of  hopeless  stupidity,  but  of  utter  ignorance  ;  that  in  pro- 
portion as  the  influence  of  grace  prevailed  on  his  heart,  his 
torpid  mind  awoke  and  came  forth;  that  the  dawning  of 
spiritual  light,  like  the  return  of  the  sun  after  the  one  long 
night  of  his  own  winter,  ended  both  his  brutishness  and  his 
vice,  and  gave  him  a  mind  and  a  heart  together.*  The  Hot- 
tentot, through  all  his  varieties,  is  found  as  eager  for  instruc- 
tion, and  as  capable  of  cultivation,  as  the  European  himself.f 
The  liberated  negro  child  at  Sierra  Leone  is  soon  found 
worthy  of  being  prepared  to  become  a  native  teacher ;  while 
the  enslaved  adult  negroes  have  abundantly  proved  their 
equality,  at  least,  to  those  who  have  held  them  in  bondage, 
"  Your  missionaries  have  determined  that ;  they  have  dived 
into  that  mine  from  which  we  were  often  told  no  valuable  ore 
or  precious  stone  could  be  extracted ;  and  they  have  brought 
up  the  gem  of  an  immortal  spirit,  flashing  with  the  light  of 
intellect,  and  glowing  with  the  hues  of  Christian  graces."  J 
Even  the  native  children  of  New  Holland,  placed  by  common 
consent  in  the  lowest  grade  of  humanity,  are  found  in  no 
degree  inferior  in  intellect,  or  ability  to  learn,  to  children  in 
general  in  an  English  school. §  How  mighty  must  that  influ- 
ence be  which  can  thus  disinter  the  mental  faculties,  and 
quicken  into  quivering  sensibility  what  appeared  to  be  a  mass 
of  unconscious  brutality  !     And  how  beneficent  that  agency 


*  Carne's  Lives  of  Eminent  Missionaries,  vol.  i.  p.  247. 
t  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  pp.  350 — 353 ;  also  p.  104. 
t  Rev.  R.  Watson  on  the  Religious  Instruction  of  the    Slaves. 
§   Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  107. 


176  TEMPORAL    BEx\EFlTS    OF 

which  takes  whole  tribes  and  nations,  whom  a  worldly  phi- 
losophy had  struck  out  from  the  family  of  man,  and  exalts 
them,  through  grace,  into  the  family  of  God ! 

11.  Christian  missions  have  proved  eminently  beneficial 
in  affording  protection  to  the  oppressed,  and  in  procuring  lib- 
erty for  the  enslaved.  At  some  stations,  the  mere  presence 
of  the  missionary  has  proved  a  salutary  check  on  the  lawless 
barbarities  which  Europeans  had  been  accustomed  to  commit 
on  the  aborigines.  At  others,  he  has  obtained  magisterial 
interference  in  behalf  of  the  oppressed,  and  has  secured  their 
rights  in  defiance  of  their  cruel  taskmasters.  In  one  place, 
he  has  guarded  against  the  danger  of  domestic  slavery  by  in- 
ducing the  natives  themselves  to  prohibit  it  by  law.  In 
another,  he  may  be  seen  hastening  with  presents  to  ransom 
captives  taken  in  war.  While  in  other  instances,  the  influ- 
ence of  that  gospel  which  he  has  preached  has  induced  the 
converted  natives  voluntarily  to  break  the  chain  of  their 
slaves,  and  to  let  them  go  free.* 

But  the  great  triumphs  of  Christian  missions,  in  ameliorat- 
ing the  state  of  the  slave  colonies,  and  liberating  the  slave,  have 
yet  to  be  recorded.  No  one  acquainted  with  the  history  of 
negro  emancipation  will  for  a  moment  question  that  these 
happy  results  were  hastened  and  effected  by  Providence, 
through  the  moral  influence  of  Christian  missions.  The 
ordinance  issued  at  the  Cape,  in  1828,  by  the  provisions  of 
which  the  Hottentots  and  other  free  persons  of  color  within 
the  colony  were  placed  on  a  civil  and  political  equality  with 
the  white  colonists,  was  the  undeniable  effect  of  missionary 
perseverance  and  fidelity.  The  publication  of  "  Researches  in 
South  Africa,"  and  the  proclamation  of  this  African  bill  of 
rights,  —  this  Magna  Charta  of  the  Hottentot  nation,  —  stand 
together  in  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect. 

The  great  Act,  which  enacted  that,  "  from  the  first  of 
August,  1834,  slavery  be  utterly  and  forever  abolished  through- 
out the  British  colonies,  plantations,  and  possessions  abroad," 
was  doubtless  the  result,  chiefly,  of  missionary  influence. 
By  bringing  to  light  the  real  condition  of  the  slave  —  his 
brutal  ignorance  and  heart-rending  wrongs  —  the  religious 
part  of  the  community  had  long  been  preparing  for  some 
great  movement  in  his  behalf.     By  the  frantic  and  murder- 

*  Evidence  qn  the  Aborigines,  pp.  5  —  21,  30  —  35,  157,  238,  247. 
Missionary  Enterprises,  p.  325. 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  177 

ous  violence  with  which  some  of  the  planters  assailed  the 
men  who  were  engaged  in  his  instruction,  the  people  of 
England  were  ultimately  aroused  to  petition  Parliament  for 
the  overthrow  of  the  system.  And  by  the  influence  of  the 
compassion  thus  awakened,  and  which  stopped  not  to  count 
the  ransom  for  suffering  humanity,  the  nation  generously  cast 
twenty  millions  at  the  feet  of  the  slaveholder,  as  the  price  of 
the  negroes'  deliverance.  Thus  humanity  triumphed  through 
religion,  and  religion  through  her  missionaries.  Nor  have 
their  services  in  the  cause  of  the  negro  been  less  important 
since  the  Act  of  Emancipation  took  effect.  On  the  recorded 
testimony  of  colonial  governors,  we  learn,  that  to  their  inval- 
uable influence  partly  it  is  to  be  ascribed  that  the  colonies 
have  been  brought  so  safely  as  they  have  through  the  succes- 
sive stages  of  the  critical  transition.  And  from  what  we 
know  of  the  past,  we  may  confidently  add,  that  not  only  have 
their  known  character  and  activity,  as  the  friend  of  the  negro, 
tended  to  check  his  distrust  and  impatience,  and  to  inspire 
him  with  confidence,  but  that  the  same  causes  have  equally 
tended  to  secure  for  him,  what  otherwise  he  would  not  speed- 
ily have  obtained,  the  unperverted  operation  of  the  Act  which 
treats  him  as  "  a  man  and  a  brother." 

12.  But  colonial  slavery  is  only  one  of  a  long  catalogue 
of  evils  which  Christianity  has  blotted  out  by  the  hand  of 
her  missionaries.  If  the  tapu,  one  of  the  chief  obstacles  to 
New  Zealand  civilization,  has  been  abolished,  it  is  to  be 
ascribed  entirely,  under  God,  to  "the  agency  of  mission- 
aries." *  If  habitual  idleness,  one  of  the  most  prolific  evils 
of  savage  life,  has  been  extensively  replaced  by  honest  indus- 
try, the  change  has  been  effected  entirely  by  the  new  wants 
and  habits  which  Christianity  has  created,  and  by  missionary 
instruction  in  the  arts  of  civilization.  If  an  order  in  Council 
has  been  issued  for  the  suppression  of  the  pilgrim  tax  in  India, 
it  was  obtained  by  the  expression  of  Christian  opinion  in 
this  country,  and  that  opinion  was  sustained  and  made  active 
by  the  representation  of  our  missionaries  there.  If  a  canni- 
bal would  now  be  sought  for  in  vain,  or  an  altar  stained  with 
the  blood  of  human  sacrifices,  throughout  nearly  the  whole 
nation  of  Polynesian  Asiatics,  the  glory  of  the  happy  change 
redounds  entirely  to  the  influence  of  the  gospel.  If  the  fear- 
ful trade  of  the  "  infant-killer"  has  ceased  to  exist  throughout 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  218. 


178  TEMPORAL    BENEFITS   OF 

the  same  vast  region,  and  if  the  Ganges  no  longer  receives 
its  accustomed  number  of  new-born  babes,  it  is  because  the 
gospel  is  going  through  the  world  restoring  a  heart  to  the 
human  bosom.  If  the  Indian  suttee  no  longer  receives  its  an- 
nual holocaust  of  30,000  widows,  it  is  because  its  unholy 
fires  have  been  dimmed,  and  all  but  extinguished,  by  the 
rising  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness.  If  Brahminism  is  rap- 
idly falling  into  discredit,  and  the  cruelties  and  immolations 
practised  in  honor  of  the  Indian  Moloch  greatly  diminished, 
Christianity  has  been  mainly  instrumental  in  producing  the 
change.  In  a  word,  if  populous  islands  and  regions  of  the 
earth  have  been  lately  wrested  from  the  empire  of  idolatry, 
and  brought  under  the  happy  influence  of  an  enlightened 
civilization,  the  change  has  been  effected  by  the  blessing  of 
God  on  the  diffusion  of  the  gospel. 

13.  Among  the  most  distinguished  benefits  accruing  to 
the  heathen  world  from  Christian  missions  —  so  distinguished 
that  we  deem  it  worthy  of  separate  notice  —  is  their  elevating 
effect  on  the  moral  character  and  social  rank  of  woman. 
Wherever  our  missionaries  have  gone,  they  have  found  that 
degradation  is  the  condition  of  the  sex,  and  insult  and  suffer- 
ing its  reward.  Of  the  Chinese  women,  Gutzlaff  writes,  they 
are  the  slaves  and  concubines  of  their  masters,  live  and  die 
in  ignorance,  and  every  attempt  to  raise  themselves  above  the 
rank  assigned  them  is  regarded  as  impious  arrogance.*  As 
might  be  expected,  suicide  is  a  refuge  to  which  thousands  of 
these  ignorant  idolaters  fly.t  And  a  large  proportion  of  their 
new-born  female  children  is  destroyed.  Even  in  Pekin,  the 
residence  of  the  emperor,  about  4000  are  annually  murdered ;  J 
and  to  ask  a  man  of  any  distinction  whether  he  has  daughters, 
is  a  mark  of  great  rudeness.^  The  condition  of  the  Hindoo 
women  is,  if  possible,  worse.  "  Any  thing,"  says  Bishop 
Heber,  ||  "is  thought  good  enough  for  them  ;  and  the  rough- 
est words,  the  poorest  garments,  the  scantiest  alms,  the  most 
degrading  labor,  and  the  hardest  blows,  are  generally  their 
portion."  And  yet  China  and  India  alone  are  at  this  mo- 
ment holding  two  hundred  millions  of  immortal  beings  in 
this  abject  condition !     If  there  are  those  who  can   account 


*  Preface  to  Voyages,  p.  xxiv. 

t  Abeel's  Appeal  to  Christian  Ladies. 

%  Abeel.  §   Gutzlaff. 

||  Twenty-fourth  Report  of  B.  and  F.  S.  S.   p.  39. 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  179 

for  the  entailed  slavery  of  the  negro  race  only  by  resolving 
it  into  a  divine  malediction,  where  is  the  curse  recorded 
which  can  account  for  the  social  slavery  and  wretchedness 
of  one  half  of  the  human  race  ?  For  be  it  remembered  that 
divine  Christianity  is  the  only  system  which  denounces  the 
enormity.  Mahometanism  adds  its  authority  to  that  of  Hin- 
dooism  and  Budhism,  in  excluding  woman,  by  system,  from 
instruction,  and  in  pronouncing  her  soulless  and  irreclaima- 
bly  wicked.  But  if  such  be  the  verdict  of  civilized  heathen- 
ism, what  may  we  expect  to  be  her  doom  in  uncivilized  lands  ? 
To  be  prohibited  from  certain  kinds  of  food  which  are  re- 
served for  the  men  and  the  gods,  and  from  dwelling  under 
the  same  roof  with  their  tyrannical  masters,  are  among  the 
lighter  parts  of  their  fate.  Well  might  the  female  barbarian 
of  North  America  look  on  the  coming  of  Eliot  as  that  of  an 
angel.*  Well  might  the  Caffres  denominate  a  missionary 
"  the  shield  of  women."  f  While  every  other  system  makes 
her  the  butt  of  their  cruel  shafts,  the  effect  of  the  gospel  is  to 
provide  her  with  a  shield.  By  exalting  marriage,  and  de- 
nouncing licentiousness  in  all  its  forms,  it  provides  for  her 
the  honorable  relation  of  a  wife,  and  the  comforts  of  a  home. 
By  discountenancing  polygamy,  it  dries  up  unnumbered 
sources  of  domestic  discord,  and  challenges  for  her  the  un- 
divided affections  of  her  husband.  By  extinguishing  infanti- 
cide, and  inculcating  the  parental  duties,  it  multiplies  the 
ties  of  conjugal  endearment,  and  increases  her  importance 
to  the  welfare  of  her  family.  And  by  developing  her  mind, 
and  exalting  her  character,  it  adds  respect  to  domestic  love, 
and  renders  her  influence  useful  and  lasting.  All  this  Chris- 
tianity has  done.  Ten  thousand  happy  Polynesian,  African 
and  negro  homes  attest  it.  And  the  operations  of  the  "  So- 
ciety for  promoting  Female  Education  in  China,  India,  and 
the  East,"  are  calculated,  by  the  divine  blessing,  to  increase 
their  number. 

Now,  that  the  benefits  which  we  have  enumerated  are 
among  the  results  of  Christian  missions,  is  become  an  estab- 
lished and  familiar  fact.  To  ask  for  any  vouchers  of  the 
truth  of  our  representation,  beyond  those  which  we  have 
given,  would  betray  ignorance  of  the  passing  events  of  the 
day,  and  an  anxiety  for  something  more  and  other  than  the 

*  Came,  vol.  i.  p.  19; 

t  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  323. 


180  TEMPORAL   BENEFITS   OF 

truth.  "These  things  have  not  been  done  in  a  corner." 
The  narratives  of  impartial  witnesses  have  recorded  them. 
A  succession  of  officers  in  the  army  and  navy  have  borne 
spontaneous  testimony  to  them.  They  are  registered  in 
colonial  reports,  and  taken  for  granted  in  government 
despatches.  Our  commerce  wafts  us  to  them ;  and  the 
reclaimed  idolaters  themselves  have  come  amongst  us,  as  the 
representatives  of  their  fellow-countrymen,  to  exhibit  in  their 
own  persons  the  value  of  the  missionary  enterprise.  Even 
the  anti-supernaturalist,  who  regards  their  conversion  as  the 
natural  result  of  their  contact  with  missionary  morality  and 
intelligence,  does  not  hesitate  to  ascribe  it  to  missionary  in- 
strumentality. So  important  an  element  of  civilization  has 
that  agency  become,  that  the  continental  literati  and  savans  — 
the  Balbis  and  KiefTers,  the  JoufTroys,  Remusats,  and  Klap- 
roths — regard  it  with  admiration.  So  conspicuous  are  its 
triumphs,  that  Rome  itself,  in  the  spirit  of  envy  or  emulation, 
is  essaying  to  achieve  the  same  with  her  enchantments.  And 
so  demonstrable  and  valuable  is  its  practical  bearing  on  the 
temporal  welfare  of  man,  that  the  highest  municipal  body  in 
the  kingdom  has  given  it  aid  ;  "  not  as  forming  a  precedent 
to  assist  merely  religious  missions,  nor  as  preferring  any  sect 
or  party,  but  to  be  an  extraordinary  donation  for  promoting 
the  great  cause  of  civilization,  and  the  moral  improvement  of 
our  common  species;"  while  the  inquiries  of  our  legislature, 
in  seeking  "  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,"  have  established 
the  fact,  that  Christian  missionaries  are  the  great  agents  of 
civilization,  and  rank  amongst  the  most  distinguished  bene- 
factors of  mankind. 

The  social  and  moral  advantages,  then,  which  the  mis- 
sionary enterprise  has  conferred  on  the  heathen,  are  before 
the  world.  And  had  the  good  which  it  has  imparted  termi- 
nated here,  who  does  not  feel  that  it  would  have  amply  repaid 
the  cost  and  toil  with  which  they  have  been  attended  1  What 
vast  tracts  has  it  rescued  from  barbarism,  and  with  what 
creations  of  benevolence  has  it  clothed  them !  How  many 
thousands,  whom  ignorance  and  selfishness  had  branded  as  the 
leavings  and  refuse  of  the  species,  if  not  actually  akin  to  the 
beasts  that  perish,  are  at  this  moment  rising  under  its  foster- 
ing care ;  ascribing  their  enfranchisement,  under  God,  to  its 
benign  interposition  ;  taking  encouragement  from  its  smiles 
to  assume  the  port  and  bearing  of  men ;  and,  by  their  acts 
and  aspirations,  retrieving  the  character  and  dignity  of  the 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  181 

slandered  human  form!  When  did  literature  accomplish  so 
much  for  nations  destitute  of  a  written  language  1  or  educa- 
tion pierce  and  light  up  so  large  and  dense  a  mass  of  human 
ignorance  ?  When  did  humanity  save  so  many  lives,  or  cause 
so  many  sanguinary  "  wars  to  cease  "  1  How  many  a  sorrow 
has  it  soothed ;  how  many  an  injury  arrested ;  how  many  an 
asylum  has  it  reared  amidst  scenes  of  wretchedness  and  op- 
pression for  the  orphan,  the  outcast,  and  the  sufferer !  When 
did  liberty  ever  rejoice  in  a  greater  triumph  than  that  which 
missionary  instrumentality  has  been  the  means  of  achieving  ? 
or  civilization  find  so  many  sons  of  the  wilderness  learning 
her  arts,  and  agriculture,  and  commerce  1  or  law  receive  so 
much  voluntary  homage  from  those  who  but  yesterday  were 
strangers  to  the  name  1  By  erecting  a  standard  of  morality, 
how  vast  the  amount  of  crime  which  it  has  been  the  means 
of  preventing !  By  asserting  the  claims  of  degraded  woman, 
how  powerful  an  instrument  of  social  regeneration  is  it  pre- 
paring for  the  future  !  And  by  doing  all  this  by  the  principle 
and  power  of  all  moral  order  and  excellence  —  the  gospel  of 
Christ — how  large  a  portion  of  the  world's  chaos  has  it 
restored  to  light,  and  harmony,  and  peace  ! 

Had  human  philosophy  effected  such  results  as  these  —  or 
only  a  thousandth  part  of  them  —  how  soon  would  her  image 
be  set  up,  and  what  multitudes  would  fall  down  and  worship ! 
By  leaving  a  single  esculent  on  an  island,  Kotzebue  plumed 
himself  with  the  assurance  of  having  secured  its  ultimate 
civilization. 

But  great  as  are  the  benefits  which  we  have  enumerated, 
and  most  of  which  can,  in  a  sense,  be  seen,  and  measured, 
and  handled,  we  venture  to  affirm  that  those  which  are  at 
present  comparatively  impalpable  and  undeveloped  are  greater 
still.  The  unseen  is  far  greater  than  that  which  appears. 
The  missionary  has  been  planting  the  earth  with  principles ; 
and  these  are  of  as  much  greater  value  than  the  visible  bene- 
fits which  they  have  already  produced,  as  the  tree  is  more 
valuable  than  its  first  year's  fruit.  The  tradesman  may  take 
stock  and  calculate  his  pecuniary  affairs  to  a  fraction  ;  the 
astronomer  may  count  the  stars ;  and  the  chemist  weigh  the 
invisible  element  of  air ;  but  he  who  in  the  strength  of  God 
conveys  a  great  truth  to  a  distant  region,  or  puts  into  motion 
a  divine  principle,  has  performed  a  work  of  which  futurity 
alone  can  disclose  the  results.  At  no  one  former  period 
could  either  of  our  missionary  societies  have  attempted  to 
16 


182  TEMPORAL    BENEFITS    OF 

"  number  Israel  "  — to  reduce  to  figures  either  the  geograph- 
ical extent  or  the  practical  results  of  its  influence,  without 
having  soon  received,  in  the  cheering  events  which  followed, 
a  distinct  but  gracious  rebuke.  How  erroneous  the  calcula- 
tion which  should  have  set  down  the  first  fifteen  years  of 
fruitless  missionary  labor  in  Greenland,  or  the  sixteen  in 
Tahiti,  or  the  twenty  in  New  Zealand,  as  years  of  entire  fail- 
ure!  when,  in  truth,  the  glorious  scene  which  then  ensued, 
was  simply  that  which  God  was  pleased  to  make  the  result 
of  all  that  had  preceded  —  the  explosion,  by  the  divine  hand, 
of  a  train  which  had  been  lengthening  and  enlarging  during 
every  moment  of  all  those  years.  So  that,  were  the  whole 
field  of  missions  to  be  suddenly  vacated,  and  all  its  moral 
machinery  at  once  withdrawn,  we  confidently  believe  that 
the  amount  of  temporal  good,  arising  from  what  has  been 
done,  will  be  much  greater  twenty  years  hence  than  it  is  at 
present. 

Who  can  say,  for  instance,  to  what  extent  the  entire  fabric 
of  idolatry  is  undermined  1  remembering  the  fact  that  the 
Sandwich  Islands  abandoned  their  gods  at  the  mere  rumor  of 
Tahiti's  conversion,  and  before  a  Christian  missionary  had 
approached  them ;  although  that  report  had  to  be  borne 
across  the  waters  nearly  three  thousand  miles.  Who  can 
walk  to  the  circumference  of  the  moral  circle  of  which  a 
missionary  station  is  the  centre,  and  say,  here  its  useful  influ- 
ence will  be  exhausted  1  For  the  gospel  moralizes  even  when 
it  does  not  convert ;  and  where  it  does  not  so  much  as  induce 
the  abandonment  of  idolatry.  It  checks  unnumbered  evils, 
unveils  the  deformity  of  vice,  restores  the  lost  influence  of 
shame,  and  thus  gradually  diminishes  crime,  and  raises  the 
moral  tone  of  society :  —  even  the  hemlock  and  the  night- 
shade grow  less  rankly  where  the  sun  shines.  Who  can  cal- 
culate the  effect  of  emancipation  in  the  West  Indies,  on  the 
servile  population  of  the  Union  1  "  The  sympathies  between 
the  colonial  inhabitants  of  the  two  regions,"  says  an  Ameri- 
can authority,  "  must  become  more  and  more  extensive.  No 
legal  enactments,  no  armed  cordon  around  Florida,  can  pre- 
vent it.  News  of  the  progress  of  human  freedom  will  fly 
faster  than  civil  proclamations.  Human  sympathies  cannot 
be  blocked  up  by  negotiations,  nor  by  ships  of  war.  Ru- 
mors of  this  sort  will  fly  on  the  winds  of  heaven." 

This,  too,  is  the  prospective  view  to  be  taken  of  that  munifi- 
cent gift,  by  which  the  nation  charmed  the  dragon  slavery 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  183 

from  its  victims.  True,  its  immediate  purpose  may,  in  some 
respects,  have  partially  failed ;  but  not  one  of  all  its  higher 
ends.  Twenty  millions  of  enactments  against  slavery  would 
not  have  made  a  return  to  that  enormity  so  impossible  as  that 
gift  has  done.  Twice  twenty  million  hearts  beat  quicker  in  the 
cause  of  humanity  than  ever.  More  than  that  number  of  be- 
nevolent impulses  have  been  sent  thrilling  through  all  the  de- 
partments of  social  improvement.  We  meant  it  for  our  coun- 
try —  it  has  touched  the  heart  of  the  world.  We  meant  it  to 
take  full  and  final  effect  on  a  day  at  hand  —  it  will  operate  till 
the  last  day.  We  meant  it  for  a  given  number  of  slaves  —  in 
an  important  sense,  it  has  bought  the  freedom  of  mankind. 
And  thus  nothing  good  is  lost.  The  feeblest  act  for  God,  not 
by  any  inherent  strength  of  its  own,  but  by  being  linked  on  to 
some  great  principle  of  the  divine  government,  is  carried  on 
through  all  time,  and,  for  aught  we  know,  through  all  worlds. 
And  who  does  not  foresee  that,  owing  materially  to  mis- 
sionary influence,  the  whole  system  of  British  colonization, 
as  far  as  it  affects  the  aborigines,  is  likely  to  be  essentially 
improved?  By  exposing  the  fact  that  for  ages  we  have  been 
imitating  the  Spanish  and  the  Portuguese  in  the  worst  parts 
of  their  policy,  and  in  the  blackest  features  of  their  national 
character ;  that  while  we  have  been  priding  ourselves  on 
our  superior  humanity  and  civilization,  we  have  been  laying 
whole  regions  desolate,  and  consigning  entire  tribes  to  de- 
struction ;  Christian  missions  have  aroused  the  national  indig- 
nation, and  thus  taken  the  first  step  towards  remedying  the 
evil.  While  by  pointing  out  the  only  legitimate  method  of 
colonization ;  by  perseveringly  imploring,  and,  through  the 
public  voice,  demanding,  in  the  name  of  outraged  justice  and 
humanity,  that  this  method  shall  be  adopted  ;  and  by  contin- 
uing to  report  every  fresh  violation  of  it,  they  are  powerfully 
tending,  under  God,  to  base  our  future  intercourse  with  the 
aborigines  on  righteousness  and  peace,  and  thus  to  promote, 
on  a  most  extended  scale,  the  temporal  welfare  of  myriads  of 
mankind. 


184  RELIGIOUS    BENEFITS    OF 


SECTION   II. 

THE    RELIGIOUS    BENEFITS    AND   SPIRITUAL   RESULTS   OF    CHRIS- 
TIAN   MISSIONS    AMONG    THE    HEATHEN. 

Great  as  are  the  social  and  moral  blessings  which  Chris- 
tian missions  have  been  the  means  of  imparting  to  heathen 
•lands,  they  have  only,  in  a  sense,  been  imparted  incidentally, 
by  aiming  at  greater  things  than  these.  The  great  design  of 
Christ  in  coming  into  the  world  was  to  erect  his  cross,  and 
the  supreme  object  of  his  missionary  is  instrumentally  to  dis- 
pense its  blessings  —  blessings  as  much  superior  to  those 
which  relate  only  to  the  present,  as  the  nature  and  duration 
of  the  undying  soul  surpass  the  body  which  enshrines  it. 
While  he  rejoices,  therefore,  in  being  made  the  medium  of 
imparting  temporal  benefits,  he  values  them  chiefly  as  the 
signs  and  the  means  of  yet  greater  good.  He  remembers 
that,  important  as  they  may  be  in  the  class  of  blessings  to 
which  they  belong,  they  are  only  accidental  to  religion  —  the 
dust  of  that  diamond  which  constitutes  her  crowning  gift  — 
the  shed  blossoms  of  that  tree  of  life  of  which  his  office  is  to 
dispense  the  immortal  fruit. 

In  enumerating  the  benefits  glanced  at  in  the  last  section, 
then,  we  have  only  been  ascending  the  steps  of  that  temple 
which  it  is  the  design  of  the  missionary  enterprise  to  erect. 
And  although  it  is  allowed  us  to  sing  our  "  song  of  degrees" 
as  we  ascend  them,  our  great  business  is  within.  Here 
angels  join  us,  and  mingle  their  joy  with  the  grateful  tears  of 
myriads  of  reclaimed  penitents.  Here  the  Redeemer  himself 
sees  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  is  satisfied. 

1.  But  in  order  that  we  may  be  the  better  prepared  to 
estimate  this  spiritual  result,  let  us  begin  with  the  first  reli- 
gious benefits  of  Christian  missions,  in  effecting  an  extensive 
abolition  of  idolatry.  If  there  existed  a  region  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  where,  in  defiance  of  the  law  which  commands, 
"  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me,"  the  Divine  Law- 
giver himself  were  forgotten,  and  demons  placed  on  his 
throne ;  where  the  moral  darkness  had  for  ages  been  deepen- 
ing and  concealing  abominations,  till  diabolical  ingenuity 
itself  had  exhausted  its  hideous  devices ;  and  where  a  cloud 
stored  with  the  bolts  of  divine  displeasure  had  been  conse- 
quently collecting  and  impending,  ready  every  moment  to  dis- 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  185 

charge  a  tempest  of  destruction,  would  he  not  be  an  instru- 
ment of  immense  good  who  should  hold  up  a  light  in  the 
midst  of  that  darkness,  by  which  the  deluded  worshippers 
should  see  that  they  had  been  sacrificing  to  devils,  not  to 
God,  and  before  which  those  demons  should  fly  ?  Such 
regions  there  are.  The  entire  empire  of  polytheism  is  a 
realm  of  diabolical  dominion.  It  assembles  its  votaries  only 
to  blaspheme  the  name  of  God ;  erects  its  temple  only  to 
attract  the  lightning  of  the  impending  cloud  on  their  devoted 
heads ;  calls  them  around  its  altars  only  that  in  the  very  act 
of  supposed  atonement  they  may  complete  their  guilt;  and 
gives  them  a  pretended  revelation  only  "  that  they  should 
believe  a  lie."  And  such  an  angel  of  mercy  is  the  Christian 
missionary.  To  say  nothing,  at  present,  of  the  decline  of 
idolatry  in  India,  and  of  the  conversion  of  some  of  the  tribes 
of  Africa  and  North  America,  where  now,  we  ask,  is  the 
idolatry  which  lately  revelled  in  the  Sandwich,  the  Marque- 
san,  the  Paumotu,  the  Tahitian  and  Society,  the  Austral,  the 
Hervey,  the  Navigators,  the  Friendly  Islands  and  New  Zea- 
land, and  in  all  the  smaller  islands  in  their  respective  vicini- 
ties ?  Idolatry  still  reigns  in  Western  Polynesia,  and  still 
steeps  its  victims  in  blood  and  guilt :  what  benevolent  power 
has  swept  the  curse  from  Eastern  Polynesia  1  The  mission- 
ary of  the  cross  has  been  there,  proclaiming  that  "  there  is 
one  God  and  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man,  the  man 
Christ  Jesus"  —  and  about  ninety  islands  have  "  cast  their 
idols  to  the  moles  and  to  the  bats,"  and  about  400,000  idola- 
ters have  become  the  professed  worshippers  of  the  only  living 
and  true  God.  We  admit,  indeed,  that  the  mere  abandon- 
ment of  idolatry  is  very  remote  from  scriptural  conversion  to 
God.  But  if  the  inspired  history  exhibits  the  Almighty  in 
one  continued  contest  with  idolatry,  is  it  nothing  to  find, 
though  it  be  only  about  the  fifteen  hundreth  part  of  his  infat- 
uated foes  lay  down  their  arms,  and  virtually  acknowledge 
their  guilt  1  If  the  mere  casting  out  of  a  demon  was  a  benefit 
to  the  dispossessed  which  called  for  his  ardent  and  lasting 
gratitude,  is  it  nothing  for  whole  demoniac  communities  to 
have  the  fiend  of  idolatry,  whose  name  is  Legion,  cast  out  of 
the  body  politic,  and  to  be  now  found  "  clothed,  and  in  their 
right  mind  "  1  The  renunciation  of  a  false  religion  is  at  least 
one  step  towards  the  adoption  of  the  true  one. 

2.    If  we  knew  of  a  region  where  the  sun  of  knowledge  — 
if  ever  it  shone  there  —  set  long  ages  ago  ;  where  the  absence 
16* 


186  RELIGIOUS   BENEFITS    OF 

of  truth  has  not  merely  left  the  mind  vacant,  but  in  actual 
possession  of  destructive  errors,  like  a  deserted  mansion 
converted  into  a  den  for  robbers  and  murderers ;  and  where 
truth  is  not  only  lost  to  man,  and  fatal  error  is  in  full  posses- 
sion, but  where  man  is  actually  lost  to  the  truth  —  lost  to  the 
power  of  even  intellectually  apprehending  it  when  first  pre- 
sented to  his  mind ;  and  if  there  existed  a  process  by  which 
that  darkness  could  be  pierced,  those  errors  exploded,  and 
this  power  restored,  would  not  he  be  a  great  benefactor  who 
should  attempt  and  conduct  it  to  a  successful  issue?  That 
region  is  heathenism ;  that  process  is  education ;  and  that 
benefactor  the  Christian  missionary.  Visit,  in  thought,  the 
200,000  youthful  and  adult  scholars  sitting  at  his  feet  to  re- 
ceive instruction,  and  imagine  what  all  those  immortal  beings 
would  have  been  if  left  to  themselves.  A  considerable  num- 
ber would  doubtless  have  been  destroyed  in  infancy,  had  he 
not  gone  to  their  rescue ;  while,  for  the  rest,  the  past  would 
have  been  all  a  fable,  the  future  a  blank,  and  the  present 
would  have  been  spent  in  a  perpetual  conflict  whether  the 
fiend  or  the  brute  should  predominate  in  their  nature.  Does 
the  reader  deeply  commiserate  such  a  condition  ?  Let  him 
remember  that  the  depth  of  his  compassion  is  a  measure,  how- 
ever inadequate,  for  estimating  the  value  of  that  process 
which  enables  them  to  emerge  out  of  it.  Let  him  observe 
further,  as  the  process  advances,  how  the  faculties  recover 
their  proper  pliability,  how  the  understanding  rejoices  in  the 
power  of  apprehending  truth,  and  reason  gradually  resumes 
its  throne,  and  even  the  countenance  itself  is  humanized, 
U  losing  the  wild  and  vacant  stare  of  the  savage  "  in  the  mild 
and  intelligent  expression  of  the  reasonable  being;  and  let 
him  remember  that  the  pleasure  which  he  experiences  in 
marking  the  transformation  is  another  measure  by  which  to 
estimate  the  value  of  missionary  effort. 

Let  him  not  suppose,  however,  that  he  has  all  the  evidence 
of  its  value  before  him  till  he  has  ascertained  the  importance 
attached  to  it  by  the  recipients  themselves  ;  till  he  has  marked 
the  adult  barbarian  indignant  at  his  own  slowness  of  compre- 
hension ;  till  he  has  seen  the  negro  parent  patiently  submitting 
to  be  taught  by  his  own  children ;  *  and  the  New  Zealander 
establishing  schools  in  his  own  villages,  under  the  direction 
of  native  youths  ;  t  till  he  has  beheld  the  fierce  warrior  of  a 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  105.  t  Idem,  p.  249. 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  187 

hundred  battles  presiding  at  the  examination  of  the  children 
of  his  people,  and  has  seen  amidst  the  beaming  looks  of  the 
parents  who  had  spared  their  children,  and  the  tearful  coun- 
tenances of  those  who  had  immolated  theirs,  some  venerable 
chieftain  rise,  and  with  impassioned  look  and  manner  exclaim, 
"  Let  me  speak  ;  I  must  speak  !  O  that  I  had  known  that 
the  gospel  was  coming !  O  that  I  had  known  that  these 
blessings  were  in  store  for  us ;  then  I  should  have  saved  my 
children,  and  they  would  have  been  among  this  happy  group, 
repeating  these  precious  truths ;  but,  alas !  I  destroyed  them 
all,  and  now  I  have  not  one  left;"  then  cursing  the  gods 
which  they  had  formerly  worshipped,  and  adding,  with  a  flood 
of  tears,  "  It  was  you  that  infused  this  savage  disposition  into 
us ;  and  now  I  shall  die  childless,  although  I  have  been  the 
father  of  nineteen  children.  O  that  some  one  had  seized  my 
murderous  hand,  and  had  told  me,  The  gospel  of  salvation  is 
coming  to  our  shores !  "  *  And  even  then  let  the  reader  re- 
member, that  in  estimating  the  value  of  missionary  instruction, 
the  chief  element  is  wanting  unless  he  could  foresee  the  num- 
ber who  will  go  forth  from  enjoying  it,  "  wise  unto  salvation." 
3.  If  there  existed  a  region  where  the  mind  of  millions, 
heaving  and  surging  like  the  laboring  ocean,  was  ever  seek- 
ing rest  and  finding  none,  would  not  he  be  conferring  on  it 
an  incomparable  good  who  should  instrumentally  allay  its 
perturbations,  and  minister  to  its  enlightened  repose  ?  Such 
a  region  is  to  be  found  wherever  the  terrors  of  superstition 
prevail.  How  dense  must  be  that  moral  darkness  which  is 
only  comparable  to  the  shadow  of  death  !  What  must  be  the 
state  of  that  mind  which  could  realize  its  conception  of  the 
invisible  powers  only  in  the  forms  of  idols  so  monstrously 
distorted  and  horrible  as  to  shock  the  imagination !  How 
intense  must  be  that  anguish  of  soul  which  can  impel  men  to 
lacerate  their  flesh,  and  inflict  agonies  of  self-torture  !  which 
can  burst  the  sacred  bonds  of  humanity,  and  offer  a  brother- 
man  in  sacrifice !  or  which  can  even  suppress  the  still  more 
sacred  feelings  of  the  mother,  and  induce  her  to  immolate 
her  infant  child  !  Then  what  must  be  the  amount  of  obli- 
gation conferred  on  the  victims  of  such  a  reign  of  terror 
by  him  who  takes  into  the  midst  of  them  an  infallible 
remedy  for  the  whole!  And  yet  the  Christian  missionary 
does  this.  He  goes  to  tell  the  dupes  of  imposture  of  essen- 
tial truth;  to  tell  the  infanticide  mother  that  she  may  save 

*   Missionary  Enterprises,  p.  564. 


188  RELIGIOUS   BENEFITS   OF 

her  offspring,  and  may  press  them  to  her  heart ;  and  the  dev- 
otee of  the  Ganges  of  the  washing  of  regeneration,  and  the 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  the  self-torturing  votary 
of  cruelty  that  the  name  of  God  is  Love ;  and  the  self-im- 
molating worshippers  of  Juggernaut  of  the  sacrifice  offered 
once  for  all,  and  of  the  blood  which  cleanseth  from  all  sin. 
Whether  the  heathen  avail  themselves  of  the  proffered  good 
or  not,  he  takes  into  the  midst  of  them  light  which  can  dissi- 
pate the  gross  darkness  of  ages,  unveils  a  propitiation  which 
expiates  the  guilt  of  a  world,  and  the  offer  of  a  peace  which 
reflects  the  cloudless  tranquillity  of  heaven  itself. 

4.  Nor  does  his  usefulness  stop  even  here.  At  this  point 
it  assumes  its  loftiest  character,  and  only  begins  to  produce 
its  noblest  results.  An  agency  there  is  which  can  not  only 
take  these  blessings  into  the  midst  of  a  heathen  tribe,  but 
which  can  then  dispose  that  tribe  to  receive  them  ;  and  by 
that  agency  the  Christian  missionary  is  actually  accompanied. 
A  change  there  is  which  new-creates  the  soul ;  and  of  that 
change  he  is  the  honored  instrument.  Pointing  to  a  hundred 
and  eighty  thousand  Christian  converts,  he  can  say,  "  Ye 
were  darkness,  but  now  are  ye  light  in  the  Lord."  Name 
the  most  depraved  and  degraded  of  the  species,  and  pointing 
to  those  converts  he  can  say,  "  Such  were  some  of  you  ;  but 
ye  are  washed,  but  ye  are  sanctified,  but  ye  are  justified,  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  spirit  of  our  God." 
Do  we  speak  of  "the  vision  of  dry  bones"  as  a  scene  typ- 
ical of  a  great  spiritual  triumph?  Here  is,  at  least,  "  an  ex- 
ceeding great  army "  raised  from  the  dead  by  the  same 
renewing  power,  and  whose  spiritual  change  is  worthy  of 
being  classed  with  the  most  stupendous  miracles  of  grace. 
Do  we  point  to  the  three  thousand  converts  of  the  Pentecost, 
and  pray  for  a  similar  triumph  of  the  converting  Spirit? 
Here  are,  numerically  at  least,  the  fruits  of  the  Pentecostal 
scene  fifty  times  repeated. 

5.  If  we  knew  of  a  volume,  parts  of  which  were  pre- 
pared for  converts  such  as  those  we  have  described,  and  the 
whole  of  which,  written  by  the  finger  of  God,  was  calculated 
to  reflect  light,  and  love,  and  glory  around  them ;  if  we  knew 
of  a  day  on  which  they  could  statedly  assemble  together  to 
worship  God,  and  associate  in  spirit  with  the  seraphim  around 
the  throne,  and  enjoy  a  foretaste  of  the  Sabbath  above ;  and 
if  there  existed  a  society  instituted  by  Christ,  enjoying  his 
perpetual  presence,  and  designed  expressly  to  train  them  up 
for  the  perfect  society  of  the  blessed,  would  not  he  who 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  189 

should  be  the  means  of  putting  them  in  possession  of  all  this 
do  more  than  confer  on  them  the  wealth  of  a  world  1  Such 
a  volume  there  is,  and  with  incalculable  toil  the  missionary 
has  prepared  and  placed  it  in  their  hands  ;  and  as  they  bend 
over  the  sacred  page,  or  press  it  to  their  hearts,  the  language 
which  beams  in  their  eye,  and  escapes  from  their  lips,  is, 
"  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go  but  unto  thee?  thou  hast  the 
words  of  eternal  life  ! "  Such  a  day  there  is ;  and  as  it  dawns 
with  all  the  hallowed  tranquillity  of  the  first  Sabbath,  ten 
thousand  dwellings,  once  the  habitations  of  cruelty,  resound 
with  the  morning  hymn  of  praise ;  and  as  its  sacred  hours 
advance,  a  number  greater  than  "  the  number  of  them  that 
are  sealed,"  "  of  all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  people,  and 
tongues,"  may  be  seen  assembled  "  before  the  throne  "  of 
grace,  and  "  before  the  Lamb,"  worshipping  God  "  in  the 
beauty  of  holiness,"  and  "  crying,  Salvation  unto  our  God, 
who  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb."  And 
such  a  divine  society  there  is;  and  to  all  those  worshippers 
the  Christian  missionary  can  say,  "  Ye  are  come  unto  Mount 
Sion ;  ....  to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first- 
born, which  are  written  in  heaven."  Upwards  of  a  thousand 
particular  churches,  belonging  to  the  great  community  of  the 
faithful,  are  at  this  moment  to  be  found  in  heathen  lands.  In 
each  of  these,  truths  are  statedly  proclaimed,  and  ordinances 
administered,  which  the  wise  and  the  holy  of  former  times 
panted  and  prayed  in  vain  to  enjoy ;  and  on  which  infinite  wis- 
dom and  grace  have  expended  their  most  precious  resources. 
So  richly  worthy  of  God  are  they  in  their  constitution  and  de- 
sign, that  did  even  the  least  of  them  all  exist  alone  in  the 
earth,  it  would  form  a  study  for  angels,  from  which  they 
might  "  learn  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God."  So  important 
and  precious  are  they  in  the  estimation  of  Christ,  that  while 
he  is  represented  as  only  extending  his  sceptre  and  despatch- 
ing his  messengers  to  other  parts  of  his  dominions,  he  him- 
self "  walks  in  the  midst  of  his  churches."  And,  conse- 
quently, so  ennobling  are  they  in  their  practical  influence, 
that  every  act,  and  privilege,  and  law,  by  which  they  are  dis- 
tinguished, tends  directly  to  prepare  their  members  for  the 
loftier  worship  of  the  beatified  church  above. 

6.  And  this  reminds  us  that  the  bright  and  ultimate  results 
of  Christian  missions  are  nowhere  to  be  found  on  earth. 
They  are  to  be  looked  for  in  heaven.  Could  we  actually 
traverse  every  part  of  the  wide  field  of  missionary  labor  of 
which  we  have  spoken,  and  could  we  compute  the  value  of 


190  RELIGIOUS    BENEFITS    OF 

its  spiritual  fruits  with  the  accuracy  of  the  angel  who  meas- 
ured the  ancient  temple  with  a  golden  reed,  vast  as  the  total 
would  be,  it  would  only  furnish  us  with  the  first  figure  of  the 
mighty  reckoning  which  the  subject  requires.  In  order  to 
estimate  their  value  aright,  we  must  stand  where  the  seer  of 
the  Apocalypse  did,  and  command  a  view  of  heaven.  For 
be  it  remembered,  that  since  the  modern  missionary  enter- 
prise commenced,  heaven  has  been  constantly  receiving  ac- 
cessions from  its  triumphant  labors.  And  be  it  observed 
further,  that  could  the  number  of  these  be  counted,  and  be 
added  to  the  missionary  converts  now  on  their  way  to  the 
hill  of  God,  still,  in  order  to  calculate  the  mighty  sum  of 
good,  we  should  require  to  know  the  trains  of  usefulness 
which  they  have  been  enabled  to  lay  for  all  the  future.  But 
what  do  we  attempt  ?  Even  then  the  computation  would  be 
only  commenced.  Were  the  last  Christian  missionary  sent 
forth,  and  the  last  missionary  proclamation  of  mercy  deliv- 
ered, the  spiritual  good  already  effected  or  commenced  by 
such  instrumentality  is  infinitely  beyond  the  reach  of  num- 
bers. Empty,  weak,  worthless  as  it  is  in  itself,  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God  has  been  pleased  to  employ  it  as  a  means  by 
which  guilt  which  might  destroy  a  world  has  been  cancelled ; 
iron  chains  of  sin  have  been  burst  asunder  ;  misery,  second 
only  to  that  of  hell,  has  given  place  to  the  peace  of  God; 
hearts,  stored  with  pollution,  made  habitations  of  God;  where 
"  Satan's  seat "  was,  happy  communities  have  been  formed ; 
large  tracts  of  the  earth  have  been  blessed  by  it ;  and  heaven 
has  been  deriving  from  it  some  of  the  richest  trophies  of 
redeeming  grace.  It  is  important  as  the  salvation  of  myriads  ; 
precious  as  the  blood  of  Christ ;  immeasurable  as  the  joys  of 
heaven ;  incalculable  as  the  revolutions  of  eternity.  The 
mind  which  at  first  put  it  into  motion  can  alone  compute  the 
value  of  its  results.  If  an  apostle  felt  constrained  to  "  give 
thanks  to  God  always"  for  the  converts  of  a  single  church; 
if  the  fact  that  at  Thessalonica  a  small  number  had  been 
"  turned  from  idols  to  serve  the  living  and  true  God,"  called 
forth  the  perpetual  thanksgiving  of  one  who  had  labored  in 
the  missionary  field  more  than  all  his  contemporaries,  what 
should  be  the  amount  of  our  gratitude  on  beholding  our  sur- 
passing success,  and  recollecting  how  little  we  have  done 
individually  to  achieve  it  ?  "  Not  unto  us,  O  God,  not  unto 
us,  but  unto  thy  name  be  all  the  glory." 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  191 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE    REFLEX    BENEFITS    OF    CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS. 


SECTION     I. 
TEMPORAL    BENEFITS. 

One  of  the  most  benevolent  arrangements  of  the  divine 
government  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact,  that  no  one  can  impart, 
or  even  attempt  to  impart,  a  benefit,  without  himself  being 
benefited.  "He  that  watereth  shall  himself  also  be  wa- 
tered." This  is  not  to  be  regarded  so  much  in  the  light  of  a 
promise,  as  of  a  law  of  the  divine  administration,  —  a  law  by 
which  the  streams  of  beneficence  are  kept,  like  the  waters  of 
the  ocean,  in  perpetual  circulation,  so  that  they  are  sure, 
sooner  or  later,  to  revisit  their  source ;  and  a  law,  therefore, 
of  which  the  great  Author  is  himself  the  sublime  illustration. 
And  one  of  the  brightest  exemplifications  of  this  law,  in  mod- 
ern times,  is  to  be  found  in  the  reflex  influence  of  Christian 
missions.  In  proof  of  this,  we  may  begin  by  calling  attention 
to  a  class  of  benefits  which  even  the  most  sanguine  and  far- 
sighted  friends  of  the  missionary  enterprise  hardly  contem- 
plated at  first,  —  the  temporal  advantages  which  it  returns  to 
the  people  with  whom  it  originates.  Had  one  of  its  more  cal- 
culating and  sagacious  friends  ventured  at  the  outset  to  proph- 
esy such  effects,  the  intimation  would  have  been  likely  to 
excite  greater  contempt,  if  possible,  from  the  world,  than  even 
the  expected  spiritual  result ;  and  even  some  of  the  church 
would  have  been  ready  to  say,  "  If  the  Lord  would  make  win- 
dows in  heaven,  might  this  thing  be."  Yet  such  is  the  im- 
posing magnitude  to  which  this  class  of  its  results  has  now 
attained,  that  men  who  care  for  no  other  or  higher  benefit, 
acknowledge  that  this  alone  would  amply  repay  the  effort  by 
which  it  is  gained. 

1.  As  one  of  the  lowest,  but  very  important  advantages 
of  Christian  missions,  we  might  name  the  services  which  they 
have  rendered  to  literature  and  science.     Geographical  and 


192  REFLEX   BENEFITS    OF 

statistical  information,  to  a  very  large  amount,  has  been  fur- 
nished by  the  missionaries  respecting  Western  Africa.*  The 
Christian  Researches  of  Buchanan  in  India  ;  and  of  Jovvett  in 
the  Mediterranean,  Syria,  and  the  Holy  Land ;  the  journals 
of  Heber ;  the  biographies  of  Martyn,  Hall,  Turner,  Thom- 
ason,  Brown,  and  others ;  the  periodical  accounts  of  the 
Serampore  brethren  ;  and  the  voluminous  reports  of  several 
of  the  missionary  institutions,  are  of  great  value  to  the  his- 
torian and  the  naturalist.  The  Travels  of  Tyerman  and 
Bennett ;  of  Gutzlaff  in  China ;  and  of  Smith  and  Dwight 
through  Georgia,  Armenia,  &c. ;  the  Polynesian  Researches 
of  Ellis ;  and  Heartley's  Researches  in  Greece  and  the  Le- 
vant; Gobat's  Abyssinian  Journal;  Williams's  Missionary 
Enterprises  in  the  South  Sea  Islands;  Medhurst's  China; 
and  the  invaluable  volume  of  "  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines  ;  " 
are  books,  whose  attractions  of  subject  and  style  have  secured 
them  an  admission  into  the  library  of  the  philosopher  as  well 
as  of  the  Christian.  Geography,  geology,  natural  history, 
philology,  and  ethnography  —  the  science  which  classifies 
nations  according  to  their  languages!  —  have  been  greatly 
enriched  by  them.  "  Numerous  materials,"  says  Balbi,  j: 
"  for  the  comparison  of  languages,  have  been  collected  at 
various  times  during  the  last  three  hundred  years.  In  this 
field,  along  with  many  other  very  useful  laborers,  the  minis- 
ters of  Christianity  have  occupied  the  first  rank.  To  the 
zeal  of  the  Moravian,  Baptist,  and  other  Protestant  mission- 
aries, as  well  as  to  the  members  of  Bible  Societies  §  of  all 
Christian  sects,  ethnography  owes  its  acquaintance  with  so 
many  nations  hitherto  unknown  in  India  and  other  regions 
of  Asia,  in  various  parts  of  America  and  Oceanica,  along 
with  the  translation,  in  whole  or  in  part,  of  the  Bible  in  more 
than  a  hundred  different  languages." 

In  philology  especially,  the  contributions  of  the  mission- 
aries   have    been    distinguished.     By  correcting   prevailing 


*  See  the  Life  of  S.  J.  Mills  ;  the  eleven  volumes  of  the  African 
Repository  ;  the  London  Missionary  Register ;  and  Reports  of  the 
African  Institution. 

t  Or,  more  strictly,  the  science  which  has  for  its  object  to  classify 
nations. 

$  Preliminary  Discourse  prefixed  to  the  Atlas  Ethnographique, 
Paris,  1826. 

§  The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  has  printed  the  Bible  in 
nearly  two  hundred  languages  and  dialects. 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  193 

errors  respecting  linguistic  affinities ;  *  by  bringing  to  light 
some  of  the  choicest  literary  treasures  of  antiquity ;  f  by  their 
valuable  translations  from  the  languages  of  the  East ;  J  by 
reducing  many  of  the  unwritten  languages  of  the  earth  to 
order  and  intelligible  classification;  §  and  by  the  patient  and 
laborious  preparation  of  English  and  foreign  dictionaries 
and  grammars,  ||  they  have  laid  the  philologist  under  per- 
manent obligation.  Accordingly,  not  only  has  commerce 
been  indebted  to  them,  and  an  embassy  employed  them,  ^f 
but  learned  societies**  call  in  their  aid,  and  accord  their 
grateful  thanks;  ft  while  the  leading  critics  and  journalists 
record  their  praises,  J  J  and  the  graver  encyclopaedist  §  § 
registers  the  activity  of  their  labors  for  the  information  of 
posterity.||  || 

*  Rev.  Mr.  Lieder,  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  seems  to 
have  determined  that  the  Berber  language  of  North  Africa  has  no 
resemblance  to  that  spoken  by  the  Berberi  of  Nubia,  as  supposed  by 
Balbi  and  others.  His  investigations  throw  great  light  on  the  lan- 
guages spoken  in  Nubia. 

I  The  German  Missionary  Society  entertains  the  hope  that  its 
missionaries  at  Shoosha  will  soon  succeed  in  publishing  that  most 
precious  relic  of  the  Armenian  church,  their  earliest  translation  of 
the  Bible,  dating  from  the  fourth  century.  [Ahope since  disappointed 
by  the  expulsion  of  the  missionaries .] 

X  Mr.  Thomson  is  understood  to  have  engaged  to  translate,  for  the 
Oriental  Translation  Society,  some  original  works  from  the  language 
of  the  Bugis,  or  principal  nation  of  Celebes. 

§   See  the  chapter  preceding. 

||  Here  Morrison — the  Johnson  of  Christian  lexicographers  — 
stands  conspicuous.  Klaproth,  in  a  detailed  critique  on  his  Chinese 
and  English  Dictionary,  in  the  Mlgemeine  Litteratur  Zeitung,  places 
it  beside  "  the  great  lexicon  of  the  immortal  Meninski."  Montucci 
goes  much  beyond  this  praise.  M.  Abel  Remusat,  Davis,  and  Hutt- 
mann,  pronounce  on  it  the  highest  eulogy. 

IT  Dr.  Morrison  in  the  suite  of  Lord  Amherst,  and  Chinese  inter- 
preter to  the  British  commission  at  Canton;  in  which  office  he  was 
succeeded  by  Gutzlaff. 

**  The  Oriental  Translation  Society.    See  above. 

tt  At  a  meeting  of  the  Oriental  Translation  Society  in  London, 
June  23d,  1832,  a  vote  of  thanks  to  this  effect  to  the  American  mis- 
sion in  Ceylon,  proposed  by  Sir  A.  Johnston,  and  seconded  by  Sir 
W.  Ouseley,  was  unanimously  carried. 

XX  "These  authors,"  says  the  Foreign  Quarterly  Review,  No.  28, 
referring  to  Marsden,  Raffles,  and  Crawford,  "have  been  followed, 
and,  at  least,  in  practical  acquaintance  with  the  languages  of  the 
Eastern  islands,  surpassed,  by  several  of  the  English  missionaries." 

§  §   See  Balbi. 
||  In  the  American  Biblical  Repository  for  Jan.  1836,  there  is  an 
17 


194  REFLEX    BENEFITS    OF 

2.  Christian  missions  have  corrected  and  enlarged  our 
views  of  the  character  and  condition  of  man.  In  vain  would 
it  now  be  for  a  Rousseau  to  repeat  his  foolish  fancies  con- 
cerning the  perfections  of  the  savage  man,  and  the  happiness 
of  the  savage  life,  and  quite  unnecessary  that  a  Forster 
should  gravely  adduce  evidence  to  the  contrary,*  a  Ferguson 
honor  them  with  a  philosophical  investigation,!  or  a  Burke 
expose  them  to  ridicule.  J  The  universal  degradation  and 
misery  of  unreclaimed  man,  even  of  that  boast  of  a  false  phi- 
losophy, the  North  American  Indian,  has,  chiefly  by  the 
circulation  of  missionary  information,  become  a  fact  as  fully 
accredited  as  that  of  his  existence.  In  vain  would  it  now  be 
for  a  certain  class  of  Europeans  to  paint  in  glowing  colors,  as 
they  once  did,  the  virtue  of  Asiatic  pagans,  and  to  eulogize 
their  mythology  as  the  most  perfect  system  of  morality  which 
ever  demanded  the  homage  of  the  heart.  That  spell  of  false- 
hood Buchanan  broke,  by  the  exhibition  of  Juggernaut  and 
his  horrors.  And  if  there  was  not  in  so  old  and  well-exam- 
ined a  thing  as  human  nature  any  new  principle  of  evil  to  be 
brought  to  light,  missionary  disclosures  have  at  least  shown 
some  of  its  known  evil  principles  operating  in  the  mild  Hin- 
doo, "  with  such  an  absoluteness  of  possessive  power,  and 
displaying  this  disposition  in  such  wantonly  versatile,  extrav- 
agant, and  monstrous  effects,  as  to  surpass  all  our  previous 
imaginations  and  measures  of  possibility."  §  And,  on  the 
other  hand  —  for  the  same  persons  who  profess  to  regard  the 
perfection  of  one  class  of  pagans  as  all  but  inimitable,  can, 
with  singular  versatility,  pronounce  another  class  irreclaim- 
able—  in  vain  would  they  now  refuse  the  claims  and  rights 
of  humanity  to  any  portion  of  the  species.  "  Ten  years  ago," 
says  the  report  ||  for  1820  of  an  American  missionary  so- 
ciety, "  the  aborigines  of  our  country  were  regarded  by  this 
great  community,  with  the  exception  of  here  and  there  an 
individual,  as  an  utterly  intractable  race,  never  to  be  brought 


article  on  the  subject  of  the  above  paragraph  replete  with  informa- 
tion, to  which  the  author  gratefully  acknowledges  his  obligations. 

*  Observations,  &c.,  by  J.  R.  Forster,  LL.  D.,  1778. 

t  View  of  Society. 

%  Vindication  of  Natural  Society. 

§  Foster's  incomparable  Missionary  Discourse,  or  profound  Trea- 
tise, bound  up  with  his  Essay  on  Popular  Ignorance,  p.  422. 

||  The  eleventh  annual  Report  of  the  American  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners of  Foreign  Missions. 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  195 

within  the  pale  of  civilized  society,  but  doomed  by  unaltera- 
ble destiny  to  melt  away  and  become  extinct ;  and  a  spirit  of 
vengeance  and  of  extermination  was  breathed  out  against 
them  in  many  parts  of  our  land.  Now,  the  whole  nation  is 
moved  by  a  very  different  spirit."  The  missionary  experi- 
ment has  determined  that  there  is  no  form  of  humanity,  how- 
ever lost  to  civilization,  which  cannot  be  restored  to  it;  or 
however  sunk  in  the  brute,  which  cannot  be  raised,  recovered, 
and  taught  to  hold  communion  with  the  skies. 

And  almost  equally  in  vain  will  it  soon  be  for  the  disciples 
of  the  French  naturalist  to  continue  to  deny  the  origin  of  the 
race  in  a  single  pair.  "  God  has  made  of  one  blood  all  na- 
tions of  men  to  dwell  on  the  face  of  the  earth."  In  this 
doctrine  of  a  common  nature,  and  the  consequent  closeness 
of  relationship  among  all  the  branches  of  the  human  family, 
is  laid  the  foundation  of  all  the  social  affections  and  duties. 
Whatever  tends  to  confirm  this  doctrine,  therefore,  must  be 
pronounced  of  vital  importance.  Now,  the  philological  labors 
of  the  Christian  missionary  are  serving  to  simplify  that  pro- 
cess which  goes  to  show  that  all  the  known  languages  of  the 
earth  are  but  dialects  of  one  now  most  probably  lost.*  Be- 
sides which,  the  identity  of  effect  which  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel  universally  produces,  contributes  a  new  and  satisfactory 
species  of  evidence  of  the  identity  of  the  origin  of  all  man- 
kind. When  we  see  how  Christ  was"  followed  by  the  Greek, 
though  a  founder  of  none  of  his  sects ;  is  revered  by  the 
Brahmin,  though  preached  to  him  by  men  of  the  fisherman's 
caste ;  worshipped  by  the  red  man  of  Canada,  though  belong- 
ing to  the  hated  pale  race ;  we  cannot  but  consider  him  as 
destined  to  break  down  all  distinction  of  color,  and  shape, 
and  countenance,  and  habits,  and  to  form  in  himself  the 
type  of  unity  to  which  are  referable  all  the  sons  of  Adam,  and 
to  give  us,  in  the  possibility  of  this  moral  convergence,  the 
strongest  proof  that  the  human  species,  however  varied,  is 
essentially  one."  f 

3.  But  not  only  has  the  Christian  missionary  contributed 
to  correct  and  enlarge  our  views  of  the  distant  branches  of 
the  human  family,  —  in  numerous  instances  he  has  been  the 


*  The  French  Academy,  after  long  research  and  deliberation,  have 
given  to  this  view  their  decided  approbation ;  so  also  Schlegel  and 
other  distinguished  scholars. 

t   Wiseman's  Lectures,  vol.  i.  p.  257. 


196  REFLEX   BENEFITS   OF 

means  of  correcting  and  elevating  their  views  of  our  char- 
acter. Numerous  and  substantial  services  have  accrued  to 
the  European  from  this  source,  especially  in  the  islands  of  the 
Pacific.  The  single  illustration  we  shall  cite,  however,  has 
its  scene  in  semi-civilized  India.  "  Do  not  send  to  me  any 
of  your  agents,"  said  Hyder  Ali,  in  his  messages  to  the  coun- 
cil at  Madras,  "  for  I  do  not  trust  their  words  or  treaties ; 
but,  if  you  wish  me  to  listen  to  your  proposals,  send  to  me 
the  missionary  Swartz,  of  whose  character  I  hear  so  much 
from  every  one — him  I  will  receive  and  trust."  And  in  his 
letter  to  the  Marquis  Cornwallis,  General  FulLarton  writes, 
"  On  our  second  march,  we  were  visited  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Swartz,  whom  your  lordship  and  the  Board  requested  to  pro- 
ceed to  Seringapatam,  as  a  faithful  mediator  between  Tippoo 
and  the  commissioners.  The  knowledge  and  integrity  of 
this  irreproachable  missionary  have  retrieved  the  character 
of  Europeans  from  imputations  of  general  depravity."  * 

4.  To  a  very  considerable  extent,  Christian  j?iissio?is  have 
been  instrumental  also  in  the  preservation  of  European  life. 
On  the  capitulation  of  Cuddalore,  in  1782,  the  influence  and 
efforts  of  Gericke  were  the  means  of  saving  numbers  from 
the  fangs  of  Hyder,  and  from  all  the  accumulated  miseries 
which  he  heaped  on  his  victims.t 

"  When  Bishop  Johannes  de  Watteville  was  on  a  visitation 
of  the  negro  congregations  in  the  Danish  West  India  Islands, 
the  governor  pointed  to  the  church  of  the  missionaries,  and 
remarked,  that  it  was  the  principal  fortress,  and  considered 
by  him  as  the  great  safeguard  of  the  island.  He  added,  that 
before  it  was  built,  he  had  not  ventured  to  sleep  a  night  out 
of  the  fortress  on  his  plantation  ;  but  now  he  had  no  fear ; 
for  even  if  there  was  a  conspiracy  among  the  slaves,  the  Chris- 
tian slaves  were  sure  to  hear  of  and  to  discover  it."  J 

But  on  this  important  though  incidental  service  rendered 
by  Christian  missions,  the  "Evidence  on  the  Aborigines" 
abounds  with  illustrations.  When,  in  consequence  of  unpro- 
voked injuries  inflicted  by  whalers  and  others,  the  natives 
have  determined  to  seize,  in  blind  retaliation,  on  the  next 
European  vessel  that  touches  their  shores,  the  missionary  has 
often  succeeded  in  dissuading  them   from  the  execution  of 


*  See  Gutzlaff  on  this  subject,  Voyages,  p.  58. 

t   Smith  and  Choules's  History  of  Missions,  vol.  i.  p.  31. 

$  Ryan's  Effects  of  Religion  on  Mankind,  p.  229. 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS. 

their  fatal  purpose.*  Disputes,  which  could  have  ended  only 
in  personal  conflicts  between  European  crews  and  native 
tribes,  have  been  terminated  amicably  by  missionary  rnedi- 
ation.t  And  even  when  a  conflict  of  mutual  destruction  has 
actually  occurred,  the  missionary  station  —  as  in  the  late 
insurrection  of  the  Caffres. —  has  been  a  city  of  refuge  to  the 
fugitive  European.  Not  only  were  their  own  lives  saved,  but, 
owing  to  the  influence  which  they  possessed,  they  were  the 
means  of  preserving  several  of  the  traders.^ 

5.  This  reminds  us  that  commerce  itself  is  under  no  small 
obligations  to  missionary  influence.  In  vain  were  all  the  at- 
tempts of  the  colonial  government  to  establish  a  commercial 
intercourse  with  the  Caffre  tribes,  until  the  Christian  mis- 
sionary had  gained  a  footing  amongst  them.§  But  not  only 
does  he  now  form  a  connecting  link  in  the  chain  of  civiliza- 
tion between  the  colonies  and  the  Caffres  and  other  tribes, || 
—  by  the  introduction  of  the  plough,  he  is  likely  to  be  the 
means  of  turning  the  attention  of  the  aborigines  from  pasto- 
ral to  agricultural  pursuits ;  in  consequence  of  which  their 
cattle  will  no  longer  prove  a  source  of  irritation  and  conflict 
with  the  frontier  colonists,^}  and  a  much  narrower  compass 
of  land  will  be  sufficient  for  their  comfortable  support.** 

New  Zealand  is  unquestionably  the  key  to  India,  on  the 
one  hand,  as  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  is  on  the  other.  And 
if,  as  events  increasingly  indicate,  a  wise  policy  should  require 
our  government  to  enter  into  a  friendly  treaty  with  that 
country,  the  measure  would  be  greatly  facilitated,  if  not  en- 
tirely owing,  to  the  favorable  predisposition  created  in  our 
behalf  by  missionary  influence. ft 

Up  to  a  very  recent  period  the  South  Sea  Islands  were, 
in  a  commercial  point  of  view,  a  complete  blank ;  but  now 
they  are  made  to  contribute  to  our  wants,  and  to  take  off  our 
manufactures,  to  a  considerable  extent.j:|  Sugar  is  cultiva- 
ted, and  taken  in  native-built  vessels  to  the  colony  of  New 
South  Wales;  §§  a°d  more  arrow-root  has  been  brought  from 
thence  to  England  in  one  year,  than  had  been  imported  for 
nearly    twenty   previous   years. ||||     Between   two   and   three 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  pp.  47,  48,  285. 
t  Idem,  p.  207.  t  Idem,  p.  344.  §   Idem,  p.  339. 

||  Idem,  p.  346.      H  Idem,  p.  155.      **  Idem,  p.  93.      tt  Idem,  p.  85. 
tt  Idem,   p.   314 ;    and   Howitt's   Colonization   and    Christianity, 
pp.  440,  441. 

§§  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  179.  ||||  Idem,  p.  180. 

17* 


198  REFLEX   BENEFITS   OF 

hundred  thousand  of  the  natives  are  now  wearing  European 
clothing,  and  using  European  implements  and  articles,  who 
a  few  years  ago  knew  nothing  of  our  manufactures.* 

6.  The  shipping  of  our  country,  too,  derives  as  much  ad- 
vantage from  Christian  missions  as  its  commerce.  This  will 
appear,  if  it  be  recollected  that  intercourse  between  Euro- 
peans and  the  untaught  islanders  of  the  Pacific  is  always  dan- 
gerous, and  has  often  proved  fatal.  The  adventurous  Magel- 
lan fell  at  the  Ladrone  Islands;  Captain  Cook  was  barba- 
rously murdered  at  the  Sandwich  group ;  the  ship  Venus  was 
taken  at  Tahiti ;  M.  de  Langle  and  his  companions  were  killed 
at  the  Samoas ;  the  Port  au  Prince  was  seized  at  Lefuga ; 
and  the  crew  of  the  Boyd  were  massacred  at  New  Zealand. 
And  now,  at  all  these  islands,  with  the  exception  of  the  La- 
drones,  there  are  missionary  stations,  where  between  two  and 
three  hundred  vessels  annually  resort ;  the  crews  of  which  look 
forward  with  delight  to  the  hour  when  the  anchor  shall  be 
dropped  in  the  tranquil  lagoon,  and  they  shall  find  a  gener- 
ous welcome  and  a  temporary  home.  Here,  at  the  smallest 
possible  expense,  the  captains  can  obtain  a  supply  of  fresh 
meat  and  provisions,  refit  their  vessels,  and  recruit  their 
crews,  t 

Formerly,  also,  when  a  wreck  occurred,  the  natives  hast- 
ened to  plunder  and  murder,  or  reserved  those  who  escaped 
from  the  sea  for  sacrifices.  Witness  the  unhappy  sufferers 
of  the  Charles  Eaton,  and  the  still  more  recent  massacre  of 
Captain  Fraser  and  his  crew  on  the  coast  of  New  Holland. 
But  now,  wherever  Christianity  has  been  introduced,  the  oc- 
currence of  a  wreck  is  the  signal  for  the  exercise  of  the 
kindest  feelings  towards  the  sufferers  themselves,  and  of  the 
greatest  zeal  for  the  protection  of  their  property.  The  Fal- 
con, the  Sir  Charles  Price,  and  several  other  vessels,  have 
been  cast  away  at  or  near  such  stations ;  and  not  only  have 
the  captains  and  others  attested  that  "not  a  nail  was  lost," 
and  that  all  the  attention  was  given  to  their  personal  com- 
fort which  kindness  could  bestow,  but  thousands  of  pounds 
have  been  transmitted  to  England  and  America  as  the  pro- 
ceeds arising  from  the  sale  of  property  saved  on  such  occa- 
sions by  native  activity  and  zeal.f     Thus  many  a  Christian 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  311. 
t  Williams's  Missionary  Enterprises,  pp.  584,  585. 
X  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  183 ;  and  Williams's  speech  be- 
fore the  Common  Council. 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS. 

missionary  is,  in  effect,  a  British  consul  of  the  most  unex- 
pensive  and  efficient  kind ;  and  his  congregation  a  society 
for  the  protection  of  British  lives  and  property.  While  the 
missionary  enterprise  itself,  by  finding  new  havens  at  the 
antipodes  for  our  fleets,  opening  new  channels  for  our  com- 
merce, and  every  where  multiplying  the  friends  of  our  country, 
is  eminently  conducive  to  the  prosperity  of  its  temporal  in- 
terests. 

Such,  we  repeat,  is  the  imposing  magnitude  to  which  this 
class  of  its  results  has  now  attained,  that  men  who  care  not 
for  any  other  or  higher  benefit,  acknowledge  that  this  alone 
would  amply  repay  the  efforts  by  which  it  has  been  gained. 
But  though  the  benefits  we  have  now  specified  possess  all  the 
importance  attached  to  them ;  and  though  they  are  among 
the  first  to  catch  the  eye  in  a  survey  like  the  present,  we  con- 
ceive that  there  are  others  of  the  same  class  of  greater  mo- 
ment still.  In  closing  our  estimate  of  the  temporal  good 
accruing  to  the  heathens  from  Christian  missions,  we  re- 
marked on  the  surpassing  value  of  the  services  which  they 
have  rendered  to  negro  emancipation,  and  to  general  coloni- 
zation. And  in  concluding  this  brief  account  of  their  reflex 
temporal  effects  on  ourselves,  we  cannot  but  avow  our  belief 
that  their  chief  national  value  will  hereafter  be  found  to  have 
consisted  in  the  influence  which  they  have  shed  on  the  same 
great  objects.  The  full  and  distinct  proof  of  this  would 
doubtless  require  a  large  induction  of  historical  facts.  We 
will  only  ask,  however,  Where  now  are  the  possessions  of 
that  kingdom,  whose  armies  and  governors,  with  savage  cru- 
elty, exterminated  the  Caribs,  the  Mexicans,  and  the  chil- 
dren of  the  sun  ?  In  whose  hands  are  the  Floridas,  Mexico, 
Darien,  Terra  Firma,  Buenos  Ayres,  Paraguay,  Chili,  Peru, 
and  California?  But  if  there  be  any  truth  in  the  doctrine 
of  divine  retribution,  or  any  thing  fearful  in  the  divine  dis- 
pleasure, then  every  one  admitting  the  guilt  of  slavery  and 
the  criminal  spirit  of  our  colonial  conduct,  will  instantly 
grant  that  the  missionary  enterprise,  by  powerfully  tending  to 
abolish  the  former,  and  to  ameliorate  the  latter,  has  instru- 
mentally  averted  a  great  national  curse,  and  has  proved  a 
proportionate  national  blessing.  The  magnitude  of  the  bless- 
ing, indeed,  is  unknown  ;  for  its  moral  influence  will  continue 
to  extend  through  every  coming  generation  of  mankind,  and 
its  value  to  increase  with  every  moment  of  time. 


200  REFLEX   SPIRITUAL    BENEFITS   OF 

SECTION   II. 

THE    REFLEX    SPIRITUAL    BENEFITS    OF    CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS. 

Before  the  distant  regions  of  the  earth  are  likely  to  be 
turned  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  says  Douglas  in  his 
Advancement  of  Society,  England  herself  will  be  evangel- 
ized in  the  act  of  evangelizing  other  nations.  Whatever 
may  be  thought  of  this  remark,  we  would  venture  to  ask,  if 
the  sole  object  of  Christian  activity  within  the  last  fifty  years 
had  been  the  advancement  of  religion  in  our  own  land,  in 
what  other  way  could  it  have  been  better  promoted  than  it 
has  been  by  sending  the  gospel  abroad  ?  In  other  words, 
had  the  same  amount  of  money  and  effort  which  the  mission- 
ary object  has  absorbed,  been  devoted  to  the  diffusion  of  the 
gospel  at  home,  is  there  any  reason  to  believe  that  our  country 
would  have  reaped  greater  spiritual  benefit  than  it  is  now 
enjoying  by  the  reflex  influence  of  Christian  missions?  The 
particulars  following  will  furnish  materials  for  a  correct 
reply. 

1.  It  is  not  for  us  to  say  at  what  moment,  or  in  what  mind, 
the  heavenly  purpose  arose  which  God  has  graciously  made 
the  occasion  of  modern  missionary  instrumentality.  Even 
were  the  circumstances  submitted  to  our  investigation,  they 
would  probably  present  a  web  of  mutual  influence  far  too  com- 
plicated for  us  to  unravel.  To  the  eye  of  God,  however,  such 
a  mind,  and  such  a  moment,  are  doubtless  present.  The 
conception  of  the  purpose  was  an  era  in  the  history  of  the 
Christian  church,  comparable  only  with  the  Reformation 
itself.  And  not  less  eventful  to  the  moral  condition  of  the 
world  at  large  was  the  moment  which  saw  its  birth,  than  the 
hour  in  which  Columbus  determined  to  give  a  new  world  to 
the  old,  to  their  temporal  concerns.  And  here,  be  it  re- 
marked, that  He  who  hath  made  it  "  more  blessed  to  give  than 
to  receive,"  began  to  bless  the  giver  even  before  he  could 
begin  to  impart ;  —  in  the  very  act  of  intending  and  arran- 
ging to  give.  The  mere  announcement  of  the  project  was  a 
blessing.  Tf  only  by  helping  to  break  up  the  monotony  which 
extensively  prevailed  in  the  religious  services  and  topics  of 
the  day,  it  rendered  a  service  to  the  church,  which  those 
who  are  accustomed  to  the  variety  of  the  present  time  can 
scarcely  estimate. 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  20t 

2.  The  striking  manner  in  which  the  missionary  enter- 
prise enlivened  the  piety,  and  increased  the  happiness,  of 
those  who  first  espoused  it,  may  be  illustrated  best  by  the  fol- 
lowing quotations.  "  There  was  a  period  of  my  ministry," 
said  the  devoted  Andrew  Fuller  to  a  friend,  "  marked  by  the 
most  pointed  systematic  effort  to  comfort  my  serious  peo- 
ple ;  but  the  more  I  tried  to  comfort  them,  the  more  they 
complained  of  doubts  and  darkness.  ...  I  knew  not  what  to 
do,  nor  what  to  think,  for  I  had  done  my  best  to  comfort  the 
mourners  in  Zion.  At  this  time  it  pleased  God  to  direct  my 
attention  to  the  claims  of  the  perishing  heathen  in  India ;  I 
felt  that  we  had  been  living  for  ourselves,  and  not  caring  for 
their  souls.  I  spoke  as  I  felt.  My  serious  people  wondered 
and  wept  over  their  past  inattention  to  the  subject.  They 
began  to  talk  about  a  Baptist  mission.  The  females  espe- 
cially began  to  collect  money  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 
We  met  and  prayed  for  the  heathen  ;  met  and  considered 
what  could  be  done  amongst  ourselves  for  them  ;  met  and  did 
what  we  could.  And,  whilst  all  this  was  going  on,  the 
lamentations  ceased.  The  sad  became  cheerful,  and  the 
desponding  calm.  No  one  complained  of  a  want  of  comfort. 
And  I,  instead  of  having  to  study  how  to  comfort  my  flock, 
was  myself  comforted  by  them.  They  were  drawn  out  of 
themselves.  Sir,  that  was  the  real  secret.  God  blessed  them 
while  they  tried  to  be  a  blessing." 

"  After  the  departure  of  our  brethren"  —  the  first  Baptist 
missionaries  to  India  —  says  the  brief  narrative  of  the  Baptist 
mission,*  "  we  had  time  for  reflection.  In  reviewing  the 
events  of  a  few  preceding  months,  we  were  much  impressed. 
The  thought  of  having  done  something  towards  enlarging  the 
boundaries  of  our  Savior's  kingdom,  and  of  rescuing  poor 
heathens  and  Mahometans  from  under  Satan's  yoke,  rejoiced 
our  hearts.  We  were  glad  also  to  see  the  people  of  God 
offering  so  willingly ;  some  leaving  their  country,  others 
pouring  in  their  property,  and  all  uniting  in  prayers  to 
Heaven  for  a  blessing.  A  new  bond  of  union  was  formed 
between  distant  ministers  and  churches.  Some,  who  had 
backslidden  from  God,  were  restored  ;  and  others,  who  had 
long  been  poring  over  their  unfruitfulness,  and  questioning  the 
reality  of  their  personal  religion,  having  their  attention  di- 

*  Second  Report  of  the  Southern  Board  [American]  of  Foreign 
Missions. 


202  REFLEX   SPIRITUAL   BENEFITS   OF 

rected  to  Christ  and  his  kingdom,  lost  their  fears,  and  found 
that  peace  which  in  other  pursuits  they  had  sought  in  vain. 
In  short,  our  hearts  were  enlarged ;  and,  if  no  other  good  had 
arisen  from  the  undertaking  than  the  effect  produced  upon 
our  own  minds,  and  the  minds  of  Christians  in  our  own 
country,  it  was  more  than  equal  to  the  expense."  * 

3.  The  benefit  of  Christian  activity  became  general ;  for 
the  missionary  spirit,  seizing  in  steady  succession  the  various 
sections  of  the  Christian  community,  quickened  them  all  into 
emulation.  The  movement  of  one  department  was  a  signal 
for  the  movement  of  every  other.  And  long  before  the  last 
tribe  of  our  British  Israel  had  unfurled  its  banners  and  fol- 
lowed the  van,  the  churches  of  America,  excited  by  our  ex- 
ample, gave  "  note  of  preparation,"  and  took  the  field.  In 
equally  quick  succession,  their  tribes  came  "  forth  to  the  help 
of  the  Lord,"  and  were  soon  seen  "provoking  one  another  to 
love  and  to  good  works."  Nor,  indeed,  has  the  hallowed  prov- 
ocation on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic  been  confined,  subse- 
quently, to  its  own  hemisphere.  The  identity  of  our  object 
has  given  us  a  reciprocity  of  influence  which  places  each 
separate  portion  of  our  respective  communities  under  the  im- 
pulse of  the  whole ;  so  that  a  movement  made  by  one  is 
almost  instantly  felt  by  all.  What  an  illustration  has  the 
working  of  our  missionary  institutions  thus  created,  of  the  in- 
calculable value  and  power  of  Christian  influence ! 

4.  Nor  was  the  institution  of  one  missionary  society  a  sig- 
nal for  the  establishment  of  other  societies  of  the  same  kind, 
merely.  The  Spirit  of  God  had  moved  upon  the  face  of  the 
ecclesiastical  waters,  and  each  succeeding  period  was  distin- 
guished by  creations  of  its  own.  Like  a  true  scion  from  the 
life-giving  tree  of  prophetic  vision,  "  which  bare  twelve  man- 
ner of  fruits,"  the  missionary  enterprise  soon  found  itself 
the  stock  of  various  kindred  institutions.  While,  judging 
from  the  subsequent  renovation  of  some  other  societies  of  a 
prior  existence,  it  has  had  the  effect  of  fertilizing  and  improv- 
ing institutions  which  it  has  not  originated.  So  that,  point- 
ing at  many  of  our  associations  and  efforts  for  the  distribu- 
tion of  Bibles  and  tracts ;  for  the  establishment  of  Sunday 
schools,  and  the  advancement  of  village  evangelization,  we 
may  ask,  Which  of  these  did  not  receive  either  its  existence, 
or  its  impulse,  from  the  missionary  enterprise  ? 

*  Smith  and  Choules's  History  of  Missions,  vol.  i.  p.  189. 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  203 

5.  And  thus  we  have  been  gradually  regaining  the  long- 
forgotten  but  invaluable  conviction,  that  the  cause  of  reli- 
gion at  home  and  abroad  is  one.  If  Christian  missions  have 
taught  us,  on  the  one  hand,  that  the  same  principles  which 
prompt  us  to  train  up  our  children  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  to 
seek  the  salvation  of  those  immediately  around  us,  impel  to 
evangelical  efforts  for  the  benefit  of  every  portion  of  the 
human  race,  and  that  to  attempt  to  separate  living  piety  from 
expansive  beneficence  is  almost  as  vain  as  it  is  unscriptural,  by 
bringing  to  light  new  and  fearful  scenes  of  foreign  destitution, 
and  by  thus  arousing  attention  and  quickening  our  Christian 
sensibilities,  they  have  been  the  means,  on  the  other,  of  prepar- 
ing us  to  feel  a  livelier  interest  in  the  claims  of  home.  Evils 
to  which  we  had  become  resigned,  because  they  were  contin- 
ually before  our  eyes,  and  which  escaped  our  animadversion 
almost  as  much  as  if  they  formed  an  inseparable  part  of  the 
course  of  nature,  have  consequently  been  not  only  deplored, 
but  successfully  assailed.  The  reasons  which  are  assigned 
for  sending  the  gospel  abroad,  are  felt  to  acquire  augmented 
force  when  applied  to  the  wants  of  the  perishing  at  home. 
Besides  which,  the  efforts  which  are  made  abroad  are  found 
to  demand  more  than  an  equal  effort  at  home  to  supply  their 
expenditure.  While  this  improvement  at  home,  demanding  a 
wider  sphere  than  the  country  which  gave  it  birth,  is  trans- 
ferred to  the  unlimited  range  of  missionary  labor ;  and  thus 
the  infant  school  of  yesterday  has  its  counterpart  to-day  in 
the  glens  of  Africa,  the  Australian  wilderness,  and  the  islands 
of  the  Pacific ;  and  what  is  gained  for  humanity  in  any  one 
spot,  is  found  not  to  impoverish  any  other,  but  to  be  gained 
for  humanity  throughout  the  world.* 

6.  By  this  and  similar  means,  the  views  of  the  Christian 
church  have  been  greatly  enlarged.  The  missionary  enter- 
prise could  have  been  conceived  only  on  the  top  of  Pisgah. 
It  refuses  to  entertain  any  design  less  than  the  amelioration 
of  the  species.  Taking  it  for  granted  that  every  true  interest 
is  universal,  it  consults,  as  it  prosecutes  its  march,  the  map  of 
the  world.  Its  appropriate  type  is  an  angel  flying  through 
the  midst  of  heaven. 

Even  the  discovery  of  a  new  continent,  and  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  universe  by  the  invention  of  the  telescope,  gave 
an  impulse  to  Europe,  the  force  of  which  is  still  felt,  and  still 

*  Douglas's  Advancement  of  Society,  &c.  p.  216. 


204  REFLEX   SPIRITUAL   BENEFITS   OF 

carrying  us  forward.  And  should  the  objects  and  prospects 
of  the  missionary  enterprise  produce  impressions  less  power- 
ful or  sublime  ?  So  lofty  is  the  mount  of  contemplation  to 
which  it  conducts  us,  —  so  boundless  the  prospect  which  it 
there  stretches  before  us,  —  and  so  completely  does  it  famil- 
iarize our  minds  with  the  vast  designs  of  God,  and  the  ample 
plans  of  his  providence,  that  our  purposes  may  well  seem  to 
enlarge  greatly  beyond  the  proportion  of  our  means.  The 
statesman,  who  plans  only  to  preserve  the  balance  of  empire, 
and  whose  scheme  embraces  an  age  beyond  his  own,  is 
praised  for  the  reach  and  comprehensiveness  of  his  views. 
But  what  are  the  purposes  formed,  and  the  ends  aimed  at,  by 
the  friends  of  missions?  They  lie  in  a  sphere  so  lofty,  that 
the  ambition  of  the  warrior  has  never  reached  it,  and  require, 
so  ample  a  scope,  that  the  policy  of  the  statesman  would  be 
spent  in  it  and  lost.  Their  field  is  the  world ;  and  their  aim 
is  to  carry  the  torch  of  truth  into  the  shadow  of  death ;  to 
prepare  the  savage  for  society,  and  to  give  society  a  sure 
foundation  ;  to  rescue  the  slave  from  his  chains,  and  to  wel- 
come him  to  the  liberty  of  the  gospel ;  to  hush  the  discord  of 
war,  and  to  restore  the  various  branches  of  the  human  race 
to  each  other  by  restoring  them  to  God ;  and  to  see  all  the 
crowns  of  the  world  at  the  feet  of  Christ.  These  are  their 
daily  thoughts  —  their  most  familiar  designs.  If  true  great- 
ness ennobles  whatever  it  touches,  must  not  the  missionary 
enterprise  tend  to  dignify  all  who  voluntarily  come  under  its 
influence  1  By  employing  us  as  its  agents,  it  has  involved  us 
in  the  mightiest  conflict  which  the  universe  ever  saw,  and  has 
invested  us  with  its  own  exalted  character.  It  has  given  to 
the  prayer,  "  Thy  kingdom  come,"  a  sublimity  in  ten  thousand 
eyes,  which  would  otherwise  have  been  blind  to  its  grandeur. 
And  twice  ten  thousand  who,  but  for  it,  would  most  likely 
have  been  immured  at  this  moment  within  their  little  denom- 
inational enclosure,  and  complaining,  like  Elijah,  of  their 
supposed  isolation,  are  exhorting  each  other  in  the  glowing 
language  of  Isaiah,  and  saying,  "  Lift  up  thine  eyes  round 
about,  and  see;  all  they  gather  themselves  together,  they 
come  to  thee ;  thy  sons  come  from  afar,  and  thy  daughters 
are  nursed  at  thy  side.  Then  thou  shalt  see  and  flow 
together,  and  thine  heart  shall  fear  and  be  enlarged ;  because 
the  abundance  of  the  sea  shall  be  converted  unto  thee,  the 
forces  of  the  Gentiles  shall  come  unto  thee." 

7.    But  such  Christian  enlargement  of  spirit  leads  to  the 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  205 

sympathetic  union  of  all  who  become  conscious  of  its  expand- 
ing influence.  True,  it  must  be  deplored  with  deep  humilia- 
tion before  God  that  the  cementing  tendency  of  Christian 
missions  has  of  late  years  met  with  lamentable  interruptions. 
In  the  midst  of  those  very  interruptions,  however,  the  mis- 
sionary spirit,  by  often  triumphing  over  them,  has  been  the 
means  of  exemplifying  the  surpassing  power  of  genuine  piety, 
and  of  furnishing  the  strongest  ground  to  hope  for  their 
final  and  utter  removal.  Forgetting  their  scruples  and  their 
preferences,  the  friends  of  missions  have  at  times  been  seen 
according  their  hearty  support  of  the  glorious  gospel,  by 
whomsoever  diffused.  With  a  happy  inconsistency  they  have 
hailed  the  missionary  successes  of  others,  and  have  thus 
crossed  the  denominational  line  of  separation,  and  seized  the 
fruits  which  belong  to  a  season  of  visible  union.  While,  by 
every  prayer  they  have  breathed  for  missionary  efforts,  they 
have  been  virtually  affirming  and  consecrating  this  catholic 
principle,  that  it  is  becoming  and  scriptural  to  aid  the  diffu- 
sion of  the  gospel  abroad,  whoever  the  Christian  agents  may 
be ;  and  to  aid  them  in  the  mightiest  of  all  forms,  by  invok- 
ing in  their  behalf  the  blessing  of  God. 

But  besides  affirming  this  great  principle  of  Christian  sym- 
pathy, under  circumstances  the  most  adverse  to  more  visible 
and  entire  union,  the  missionary  enterprise  has  been  exten- 
sively the  means,  under  God,  of  preventing  many  a  rupture 
which  would  otherwise  have  occurred,  and  of  strengthening 
many  a  bond  of  attachment  which  would  else  have  been  burst 
asunder.  As  a  fine  illustration,  we  quote  the  following  ex- 
tract from  the  Report  *  of  an  American  missionary  society  : 
"  The  whole  business  of  forming  these  Boards  [of  Foreign 
Missions]  was  conducted  in  all  three  of  the  Synods  with 
entire  unanimity,  and  was  felt  by  all  to  have  exerted  on  these 
bodies,  and  on  the  cause  of  religion  as  they  are  related  to  it, 
a  most  happy  influence.  In  the  Synod  of  South  Carolina 
and  Georgia,  the  business  was  concluded  by  the  unanimous 
adoption  of  the  following  resolution  :  '  Resolved,  —  That 
this  Synod  acknowledge  with  gratitude  the  goodness  of  God, 
in  bringing  before  them  the  great  subject  of  foreign  mis- 
sions, and  in  directing  them  to  a  unanimous  and  blessed  re- 
sult.' "     And  a  member  of  the  Synod,  a  pastor  of  one  of  its 

*  Twenty-fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners for  Foreign  Missions,  1834,  pp.  30,  31. 

18 


206  REFLEX   SPIRITUAL    BENEFITS   OF 

most  important  churches,  speaks  of  the  influence  of  these 
proceedings  as  follows,  in  a  letter  to  one  of  the  secretaries : 
"  This  Synod  has  been  by  it  saved  from  disunion  and  discord. 
It  has  been  harmonized  and  united.  It  has  been  melted 
down  into  one  mass.  It  has  now  one  soul,  and  breathes  one 
sentiment  —  to  live,  not  for  ourselves,  or  our  own  sectional 
interests,  but  for  the  conversion  of  the  world.  Such  a  hap- 
py, holy,  rejoicing,  and  blessed  meeting  of  Synod  has  never, 
according  to  the  opinion  of  the  eldest  members,  been  wit- 
nessed and  enjoyed.  There  were  dark  and  portentous  clouds 
hanging  over  it.  Every  mind  was  filled  with  apprehension. 
Each  feared  to  ask  the  sentiment  of  his  brother.  But  the 
clouds  are  dispersed  and  gone.  Our  fears  are  changed  into 
joys,  and  we  parted  from  each  other  in  the  warmest  inter- 
change of  brotherly  affection.  And  all  is  attributable  — 
and,  by  a  solemn  recorded  resolution  of  the  Synod,  is  as- 
cribed—  to  the  discussion  of  the  missionary  subject,  and  en- 
gagement in  the  missionary  cause.  The  scene  which  occurred 
when  we  all  stood  up,  after  uniting  in  prayer,  to  adopt  the 
whole  constitution,  was  overpowering.  There  were  few  dry 
eyes,  even  of  those  unused  to  tears.  There  were  frequent 
and  loud  sobbings.  There  was  the  solemnity  of  eternity. 
There  was  the  cool  intrepidity  of  a  band  of  soldiers,  prepar- 
ing for  a  charge  upon  the  citadel  of  an  armed  and  enraged 
enemy.  After  adopting  the  constitution,  we  sang  the  mis- 
sionary hymn,  when  it  seemed  that  heaven  heard  the  sound, 
and  earth  responded  with  a  glad  'Amen.' " 

8.  But  the  same  missionary  enlargement  of  spirit  which 
tends  to  unite  all  who  partake  of  it  into  one  sympathetic 
brotherhood,  has  also  led  to  the  willing  consecration  of  their 
property.  Such  was  the  boundless  benevolence  of  Christ,  that 
"  for  the  joy  set  before  him,"  and  which  consisted  partly  in 
the  prospect  of  human  salvation,  he  "  endured  the  cross,  de- 
spising the  shame."  Was  it,  then,  to  be  wondered  at  if  his 
professed  followers  should  so  far  share  in  his  benevolence  as 
to  contribute  a  portion  of  their  property  for  an  object  for 
which  he  gave  "  his  own  self"  1  Accordingly,  the  widow  has 
been  seen  casting  into  the  mission  treasury  of  her  penury, 
and  the  rich  man  of  his  abundance  ;  and  though  the  scale  of 
Christian  liberality  is  still  far  below  the  standard  of  the  gos- 
pel, yet  how  much  lower  would  it  have  been,  humanly  speak- 
ing, but  for  the  ennobling  influence  of  Christian  missions! 
How  many  have  been  led  to  abandon  the  notion,  that  we  may 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS.  207 

allowably  hoard  up  Our  property  while  we  live,  if  we  will 
only  make  a  religious  bequest  of  a  certain  proportion  of  it 
at  death  !  Strange  as  it  would  have  appeared  to  us  all  a  few 
years  ago,  and  strange  as  it  seems  even  now  to  those  who 
are  behind  their  age,  Christians  can  be  found  whose  religious 
charities  considerably  exceed  a  tenth  of  their  income.  Mil- 
lions have  been  contributed  to  Christian  missions,  a  large 
proportion  of  which  would  otherwise  have  been  given  to 
"  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  and  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  and  the  pride 
of  life."  And  the  number  is  increasing  of  those  who  are  ready 
to  add  to  their  other  offerings  upon  the  altar,  themselves  and 
their  children. 

In  three  respects  especially  has  the  missionary  enterprise 
produced  a  most  salutary  effect  on  Christian  liberality.  It 
has  shown  that,  like  every  other  disposition,  benevolence  is 
strengthened  by  exercise ;  for  in  proportion  as  information 
concerning  heathen  wretchedness  and  Christian  obligation  to 
alleviate  it  has  been  circulated,  every  increased  demand  for 
Christian  charity  has  been  regularly  met  with  an  increased 
supply.  2.  It  has  led  many  who  gave  from  impulse  only  to 
contribute  from  principle,  and  on  a  system ;  and  has  thus 
given  to  charity  the  character  of  a  holy  philosophy.  3.  And 
it  has  produced  an  auspicious  dissatisfaction  with  the  highest 
scale  of  liberality  hitherto  attained,  and  awakened  a  convic- 
tion that  the  pecuniary  resources  of  a  church  adequately 
alive  to  its  obligations  would,  under  the  divine  administration 
of  Him  who  multiplied  a  morsel  into  a  feast  for  five  thousand, 
prove  indefinite  and  inexhaustible. 

9.  Nor  has  the  missionary  enterprise  less  directly  tended 
to  awaken  and  cherish  a  spirit  of  prayer.  We  have  already 
spoken  of  the  period  when  monthly  missionary  meetings  for 
prayer  were  commenced  as  an  era  in  the  history  of  Christian 
missions ;  and  though  every  division  of  the  Christian  com- 
munity may  not  have  formally  adopted  the  same  course,  there 
is  no  portion  perhaps  which  has  not  in  consequence  been 
favorably  influenced  ;  certainly  none  which  the  missionary 
spirit  has  not  quickened  into  increased  devotion.  Owing  to 
the  same  cause,  how  much  greater  a  prominence  has  been 
given  to  the  doctrine  of  divine  influence,  and  how  much 
more  deeply  have  thousands  felt  their  dependence  upon  it ! 
How  many  a  public  meeting  has  solemnly  resolved  to  the 
effect,  "  That,  recognizing  their  dependence  on  the  gracious 
agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  all  success  in  labors  for  saving 


208  REFLEX   SPIRITUAL    BENEFITS    OF 

the  heathen,  and  the  indispensable  importance  of  fervent  and 
importunate  supplication  to  Almighty  God  for  this  purpose,'' 
Christians  should  be  exhorted  and  excited  to  increased  inter- 
cession !  And  how  many  an  instance  of  private  devotion  has 
ensued,  unknown  to  man,  but  witnessed  by  angels,  and  re- 
corded in  heaven,  in  which  such  resolutions  have  been  car- 
ried into  effect  "with  strong  crying  and  tears"!  Indeed, 
what  is  now  the  one  ardent,  all-comprehending  desire  of  the 
holiest  portion  of  the  Christian  church  but  this,  "  Let  the 
whole  earth  be  filled  with  his  glory  "  —  a  desire  which,  in  the 
eye  of  God,  is  equally  a  prayer,  whether  it  be  "  uttered  or 
unexpressed ;  "  so  that  it  may  be  regarded  as  always  ascend- 
ing ;  a  desire  which  gives  birth  in  every  heart  that  cherishes 
it  to  a  thousand  kindred  desires,  each  of  which  brings  down 
the  divine  blessing,  not  on  the  missionary  enterprise  alone, 
but  on  the  entire  field  of  Christian  activity;  and  a  desire 
which,  as  it  cannot  be  urged  in  prayer  without  being  fulfilled, 
so  it  cannot  be  fulfilled  without  multiplying  the  number  of 
Christian  suppliants,  and  thus  filling  the  church  with  inter- 
cessors for  the  world.  "  O  Thou  that  hearest  prayer,  unto 
thee  shall  all  flesh  come." 

10.  What  noble  specimens  of  Christian  character  has  the 
missionary  enterprise  given  to  the  church  and  to  the  world! 
The  enterprise  itself  is  a  pure  creation  of  Christianity.  It  is 
a  combination,  not  of  the  worldly  and  selfish  to  advance  their 
own  peculiar  interests;  not  of  the  powerful  and  the  wealthy 
to  tyrannize  over  the  poor  and  the  helpless ;  but  an  associa- 
tion of  the  great  and  the  good,  of  the  aged  pastor,  the  ardent 
missionary,  and  the  young  disciple,  —  of  all  that  is  excellent 
in  the  Christian  church ;  an  association  in  which  the  wealth 
of  the  affluent,  the  tongue  of  the  learned,  the  prayer  of  the 
poor,  and  the  mite  of  the  widow,  are  combined  and  engaged 
to  give  the  gospel  to  all  the  tribes  and  nations  of  the  earth. 

But  among  the  friends  and  agents  of  this  unworldly  con- 
federation there  are  some  whose  character  shines  with  pecu- 
liar lustre.  Here  female  piety  has  recovered  and  displayed 
anew  the  glory  which  it  won  when  it  wept  at  the  cross,  and 
was  early  at  the  sepulchre.  Here  offerings  more  costly  than 
those  of  the  "  sweet  spices  "  of  the  sepulchre  have  been  pre- 
sented by  the  Christian  Marys  of  modern  times.  Here  many 
a  mother,  whom  the  world  knows  not,  has,  in  the  depth  of 
her  own  heart,  like  the  mother  of  Mills,*  dedicated   her  off- 

*  Smith  and  Choules's  History  of  Missions,  vol.  ii.  p.  234. 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS.  209 

spring  to  a  post  of  distant  labor.  What  Spartan  mother  of 
old,  when  buckling  on  the  armor  of  her  son,  and  bidding  him, 
as  she  gave  him  his  shield,  "  either  to  bring  it  back,  or  to  be 
brought  back  upon  it,"  can  compare  with  the  widowed  mother 
of  Lyman,  when  she  replied  to  the  intelligence  that  her  son 
had  been  murdered  by  the  cannibal  Battas,  "  I  bless  God, 
who  gave  me  such  a  son  to  go  to  the  heathen,  and  I  never 
felt  so  strongly  as  I  do  at  this  moment  the  desire  that  some 
others  of  my  sons  may  become  missionaries  also,  and  may  go 
and  preach  salvation  to  those  savage  men  who  have  drunk  the 
blood  of  my  son."  *  What  ancient  Hebrew  women,  receiving 
"  their  dead  raised  to  life  again,"  surpassed  the  self-denying 
faith  of  the  widowed  mother  who  could  say  of  a  son  to  whom 
herself  and  her  seven  children  were  beginning  to  look  for 
support,  "  Let  him  go;  God  will  provide  for  me  and  my 
babes.  And  who  am  I,  that  I  should  be  thus  honored  to  have 
a  son  a  missionary  to  the  heathen  ? "  and  who,  when  that  son 
had  labored  successfully  in  India,  and  had  died,  could  say  of 
a  second,  who  aspired  to  walk  in  the  footsteps  of  his  brother, 
"  Let  William  follow  Joseph,  though  it  be  to  India  and  an 
early  grave"  ?t  Here  the  accomplished  and  highly-intellec- 
tual female  may  be  seen  meekly,  yet  firmly,  devoting  herself 
to  a  distant  and  arduous  career ;  vying  with  the  hero  in  his 
defiance  of  dangers,  and  with  the  martyr  in  the  endurance  of 
them.  If  self-devotion  deserve  our  applause,  who  can  present 
a  stronger  claim  than  Harriet  Newell  1  If  the  heroic  endu- 
rance of  suffering  is  to  be  embalmed  in  the  memory,  who 
deserves  a  brighter  memorial  than  Anne  Hazeltine  Judson  ? 

But  to  speak  of  all  the  examples  of  moral  greatness  asso- 
ciated with  the  missionary  enterprise,  is  to  speak  of  a  number 
which  "  the  time  would  fail  me  to  tell."  Who  does  not  think 
of  those  men  of  the  western  wilderness  who  first  taught  us  in 
modern  times  how  the  savage  is  to  be  reclaimed  ?  Who  does 
not  think  of  the  Moravian  heroes  of  Greenland  and  Labrador 
in  the  north  ;  of  the  early  mission  to  Tranquebar  in  the  east ; 
and  of  those  who  first  toiled  and  fell  in  Africa,  south  1  and 
who  can  think  of  them  without  feeling  that,  under  God,  they 
and  their  successors  have  served,  and  saved  the  character  of, 
the  Christian  church? 

To  admire  self-devotion  and  noble  daring  in  theory  only  is 
cheap  virtue ;  and  yet,  prior  to  the  rise  of  missions,  but  few 

Holt's  Missionary  Anecdotes,  p.  260.  t  Idem,  p.  262. 

18* 


210  REFLEX   SPIRITUAL   BENEFITS   OF 

Christians  were  doing  more  than  this.  If  the  rising  offspring 
of  religious  parents  would  read  of  wasting  privations  endured, 
of  dangers  braved  and  vanquished,  and  of  conflicts  attempted 
and  achieved,  —  the  most  attractive  topics  for  the  young,  —  they 
had  to  seek  them  in  the  pages  of  the  enterprising  merchant, 
the  soldier,  or  the  scientific  traveller.  To  practise  self  denial 
which  should  be  repaid  only  by  conscience,  to  think  of  benefi- 
cence without  fame,  to  do  any  thing  more  than  admire  the 
disinterested  zeal  of  the  reformers,  confessors,  and  mission- 
aries of  former  times,  would  have  been  deemed  not  less  im- 
practicable by  the  church,  generally,  than  irrational  by  the 
world.  Now,  to  the  men  who  have  been  raised  up  by  God  in 
the  service  of  modern  missions  we  are  greatly  indebted  for 
the  termination  of  this  guilty  delusion.  They  have  shown 
that  the  church  need  not  be  tame  and  uninteresting  in  its 
character ;  that  the  world  need  not  be  allowed  to  monopolize 
all  that  is  fascinating  in  youthful  eyes ;  that  real  greatness 
need  not  be  suspended  in  the  clouds,  and  admired  as  a  rain- 
bow ;  but  that  it  may  be  brought  down  and  imbodied  in 
actual  life.  Who  does  not  feel  that  their  example  has  instru- 
mentally  created  in  the  church  the  atmosphere  of  a  nobler 
piety,  and  that  we  are  living  under  its  influence  ? 

The  lowest  benefit  they  have  conferred  is,  that  they  have 
robbed  the  apathetic  of  their  plea ;  so  that,  till  the  voice  of 
history  shall  be  dumb,  wherever  an  effort  shall  be  made  to 
invade  the  kingdom  of  darkness,  their  example  will  be  present 
to  silence  the  objection  that,  though  the  theory  is  good,  it 
is  impossible  to  put  it  in  practice.  There  is  virtue  even  in 
their  memory.  It  imposes  a  restraint  on  the  worldliness  of 
thousands.  As  their  professed  admirers,  we  feel  ourselves 
bound  not  to  fall  too  glaringly  below  their  standard  of 
excellence. 

But  if  they  are  only  preventing  some  from  falling  below 
a  certain  point,  they  are  exciting  numbers  to  rise.  And  who 
does  not  recognize  the  wisdom  of  God  in  appointing  that 
some  of  the  pioneers  in  the  modern  missionary  field  should 
have  been  giants  in  holy  daring  and  strength  ?  and  as  such, 
fitted  to  be  exemplars  to  all  who  came  after  them  in  the  same 
career.  In  the  vocabulary  of  the  church,  their  names  have 
become  synonymes  for  every  species  of  active  excellence. 
Eliot,  Zeisberger,  and  Brainerd,  are  but  other  names  for 
indefatigable  labor  and  enterprise,  and  self-consuming  ardor. 
We  think  of  Swartz,  and  the  might  of  character.     The  ac- 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS.  211 

complished  youth,  panting  to  live  for  Christ  in  distant  lands, 
but  derided  as  a  visionary,  thinks  of  Martyn,  and  takes  cour- 
age. Pious  and  disinterested  poverty  reads  of  Carey,  and 
emerges  from  its  humble  cell  to  perform  labors  which  excite 
the  devout  thanksgiving  of  the  church.  Faith  looks  at  the 
origin  and  early  history  of  the  Moravian  mission,  and,  undis- 
mayed by  the  scantiness  of  her  human  resources,  girds  up 
the  loins  of  her  mind,  and  addresses  herself  to  her  task  afresh. 
Their  biography  is  creating  for  the  church  a  literature  of  its 
own.  Their  example  is  reproducing  itself  in  a  second  race. 
To  the  influence  of  Brainerd  the  church  is  chiefly  indebted, 
under  God,  for  the  labors  of  a  Milne.  The  pious  father  gives 
their  names  to  his  sons,  as  a  title  of  excellence,  and  an  incite- 
ment to  attain  it.  Their  zeal  for  God  has  kindled  a  fire  at 
which  numbers  daily  are  lighting  their  torch.  And  thus,  in 
various  ways,  have  they  given  ardor  to  holy  activity,  and  mul- 
tiplied the  power  of  truth;  while  the  church  below  unites 
with  the  church  above  in  "  glorifying  God  in  them." 

11.  Owing  to  some  of  the  particulars  last  enumerated  it 
is  that  the  Christian  church  has  been  gradually  awakened  to 
the  practicability  of  the  missionary  enterprise,  and  to  the  con- 
viction that  it  is  the  duty  of  all  its  members  to  espouse  it. 
The  rising  children  of  the  church  may  regard  this  duty  as  so 
self-evident  that  it  could  never  have  been  doubted.  They 
are  to  be  assured,  however,  that  its  practical  admission  is  but 
of  recent  date,  and  that  their  fathers  in  Christ  had  first  to  be 
convinced  of  it  themselves,  and  then  laboriously  to  convince 
others.  They  are  to  be  assured  that  it  was  but  as  yesterday 
that  Christians  generally  were  regarding  the  enormous  abom- 
inations of  paganism  with  a  kind  of  submissive  awe,  as  if 
they  had  been  inevitable  conditions  of  humanity;  or,  if  they 
thought  of  their  ultimate  removal,  it  was  expected  only  as 
the  result  of  a  miraculous  intervention  which  it  was  almost 
presumptuous  in  them  to  urge,  and  in  prospect  of  which  it 
became  them  rather  to  "  stand  still  and  see  the  salvation  of 
God."  Meanwhile,  the  heathen  were  perishing  through  their 
neglect.  He  who  had  laid  all  their  powers  under  tribute  for 
the  service,  was  "  walking  in  the  midst"  of  them,  and  repeat- 
ing, "  Go  into  all  the  world,  preach  my  gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture," and  the  guilt  of  centuries  of  disobedience,  accumulated 
at  their  door,  was  daily  and  hourly  rising  higher.  Who,  then, 
can  duly  estimate  the  magnitude  of  the  benefit  conferred  on 
the  church,  by  that  instrumentality  by  which  it  has   been 


212  REFLEX   SPIRITUAL    BENEFITS   OF 

aroused  to  attempt  the  salvation  of  those  heathen,  to  obey 
that  high  command,  and,  at  least,  to  prevent  that  mountain 
of  guilt  from  rising  higher  ?  Yet  such  is  the  nature  of  the 
benefit  conferred  by  the  missionary  enterprise.  Not  only  has 
it  been  the  means  of  creating  lofty  specimens  of  individual 
Christian  character,  —  it  has  given  a  new  character  to  the  col- 
lective church.  The  knowledge  which  it  has  circulated  even 
in  the  most  retired  parts  of  the  country,  and  among  the  lowest 
ranks  of  society,  concerning  the  state  of  the  heathen,  has 
moved  the  compassion  of  the  faithful  generally.  By  the  en- 
forcement of  scriptural  obligation  on  the  subject,  it  has  made 
them  all  feel,  in  different  degrees,  that  every  one  can  do 
something.  By  the  organization  of  auxiliary  societies,  it  has 
excited  and  engaged  the  aid  of  the  humblest,  and  seeks  to 
engage  the  cooperation  of  all.  By  the  noble  examples  of 
self-consecration  which  it  has  placed  before  the  church,  num- 
bers have  been  led  to  inquire  whether  or  not  they  are  living 
as  they  ought  for  the  conversion  of  the  world.  While,  with 
each  returning  year,  the  sentiment  of  a  thousand  resolutions 
proposed  at  public  meetings,  and  responded  to  by  twice  ten 
thousand  hearts,  is  substantially  this,  — "  that  more  must  be 
done."  In  this  way  the  church  is  becoming  more  than  ever 
militant  and  aggressive.  The  spirit  of  missions  is  felt  to  be 
the  true  spirit  of  the  gospel.  The  noblest  ambition  is  aroused 
—  the  ambition  of  turning  the  world's  darkness  into  an  em- 
pire of  light  and  peace. 

12.  But  by  conferring  this  benefit  on  the  church,  and  di- 
recting its  attention  to  the  state  of  the  world,  the  missionary 
enterprise  has  been  gradually  reducing  the  strongholds  of 
infidelity,  and  "  taking  from  it  the  arms  wherein  it  trusted." 
As  far  as  the  assaults  of  this  monster  evil  have  been  made,  at 
any  time,  against  the  grounds  of  our  faith,  Christians  have 
only  themselves  to  thank.  That  the  world  should  voluntarily 
lay  aside  its  hostility  to  holiness,  do  whatever  the  church 
may,  is  not  to  be  expected ;  but  that  hostility  is  divisible  into 
two  kinds  —  that  which  is  directed  against  Christianity,  and 
that  which  is  aimed  at  its  professors.  And  what  Christian 
would  not  rather  that  it  should  be  levelled  at  his  own  charac- 
ter, than  at  that  of  the  gospel,  or  of  his  ever-blessed  Lord  1 
And  who  does  not  perceive,  judging  from  the  history  of  the 
church,  that  Christians  may  generally  choose  which  shall  be 
the  object  of  the  world's  attack  —  the  gospel  or  its  profess- 
ors 1     Let  them  take  the  field,  act  on  the  aggressive,  carry 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS.  213 

their  arms  into  the  enemies'  country,  and  we  hear  scarcely  a 
word  against  the  truth  of  the  gospel ;  we  give  the  world  no 
leisure  to  indulge  in  speculative  skepticism ;  it  finds  enough 
to  do  in  stigmatizing  our  character  as  hypocrites,  enthusiasts, 
and  fanatics.  But  let  us  quit  the  field,  shut  ourselves  up  in 
self-indulgence  within  the  walls  of  the  church,  and  the  world 
will  advance,  as  an  earthly  army  in  similar  circumstances 
would  do,  and  will  sap  and  mine  our  defences  as  the  only 
means  of  reaching  and  destroying  us.  Our  indolence,  in  that 
case,  leaves  it  nothing  else  to  do. 

Now  the  effect  of  modern  missions,  on  the  tactics  of  infi- 
delity, illustrates  the  truth  of  these  remarks.  Where  now  is 
the  infidelity  of  Spinosa  and  the  Pantheists;  of  Bayle  and 
academic  doubts ;  of  Voltaire  and  ridicule ;  of  Hume,  Gib- 
bon, and  Rousseau  ?  Since  the  missionary  enterprise  com- 
menced, it  has  almost  entirely  changed  its  ground  and  its 
weapons.  .Was  it  one  of  its  favorite  objections  that  the 
apathy  of  Christians  for  the  heathen  demonstrated  that  they 
did  not  believe  their  own  book  1  Every  additional  missionary 
that  goes  forth  is  assisting  to  convert  that  objection,  from  a 
weapon  of  attack,  into  a  means  of  Christian  defence.  Was 
the  extreme  limitation  of  Christendom,  as  compared  with  the 
world  at  large,  another  of  the  objections  on  which  it  relied  1 
Every  new  region  reclaimed  from  idolatry,  and  every  addi- 
tional church  planted  in  heathen  lands,  blunt  the  edge  of  this 
objection.  After  pointing  with  scorn  at  the  contracted  limits 
of  Christendom,  did  it  then  pour  ridicule  on  Christians  for 
attempting  to  enlarge  those  bounds?  But  this  could  have 
arisen  only  from  the  supposed  impotence  of  the  gospel  by 
which  they  proposed  to  effect  the  change.  So  conspicuous, 
however,  have  been  the  triumphs  of  the  cross,  in  many  of  the 
most  hopeless  parts  of  the  heathen  world,  that  even  the  magi- 
cians of  worldly  philosophy  themselves  begin  to  acknowledge 
that  "  this  is  the  finger  of  God,"  and  to  despair  of  ever  being 
able  to  "  do  the  same  with  their  enchantments." 

13.  But  besides  assisting  to  disarm  infidelity,  the  mission- 
ary enterprise  has  eminently  promoted  the  cause  of  biblical 
study,  augmented  the  evidences  of  Christianity,  and  propor- 
tionally increased  our  confidence  in  the  divinity  of  its  char- 
acter, and  in  the  certainty  of  its  ultimate  triumphs.  If 
sacred  science  be  distributed  into  the  critical  or  verbal,  the 
devout  or  practical,  and  the  scientific  or  theological,  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  first  of  these  may  be  considered  as  laudably 


214  REFLEX   SPIRITUAL    BENEFITS   OF 

characteristic  of  the  present  day.  Now,  whatever  advantage 
may  accrue  from  this  source  to  the  cause  of  truth  in  general, 
must  be  ascribed,  partly,  if  not  chiefly,  to  the  influence  of 
Christian  missions.  For  by  creating  a  demand  for  the  circu- 
lation of  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  heathen  lands,  and  by  secur- 
ing their  translation  into  many  of  the  languages  of  the  earth, 
it  has,  in  conjunction  with  the  Bible  Society,  necessarily  led 
to  the  unprecedented  cultivation  of  this  important  branch  of 
sacred  study.  And  even  as  to  the  other  departments,  which 
we  have  specified,  the  influence  of  missions  has  conferred  on 
the  church  a  greater  benefit  than  all  the  theological  polem- 
ics of  the  last  century  ;  for  if  it  has  not  confuted  any  here- 
sy, it  has  rendered  perhaps  a  still  more  important  service,  in 
causing  some  to  be  practically  extinguished  and  forgotten. 
While,  by  the  new  demands  which  it  has  devolved  on  the 
church,  and  the  new  relations  which  we  find  ourselves  called 
to  sustain,  the  entire  Bible  has  come  to  assume  a  compara- 
tively missionary  character.  Not  merely  single  Verses,  but 
whole  masses  of  truth,  have  acquired  a  meaning  and  an  im- 
portance in  our  eyes,  before  unknown. 

The  missionary  enterprise  has  contributed  in  various  ways 
to  illustrate  the  divinity  of  the  gospel.  It  assumes  that  men 
are  every  where  the  same  —  guilty  and  depraved.  But  who 
could  be  aware  of  the  fact  except  "  the  God  of  the  whole 
earth"?  When  the  gospel  was  written,  vast  regions  of  the 
earth  remained  to  be  explored,  and  populous  countries  to  be 
discovered.  How,  then,  could  the  writers  of  the  gospel  have 
accurately  described  the  character  of  men  in  unknown  lands, 
if  they  had  not  "  spoken  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost"  ?  Infidelity  has  often  essayed  to  prove  that  the  de- 
pravity of  man  admits  of  large  exceptions;  that  in  some  states 
of  society  he  is  innocent ;  and  that  nothing  but  the  discovery 
of  a  new  people  was  wanting  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  its 
theory.  Who,  then,  could  sketch  a  likeness  of  man,  which 
men  of  all  times  and  tongues  should  recognize  as  their  own, 
but  he  who  "  knew  what  was  in  man  "  1  By  the  same  means, 
the  universal  adaptation  of  the  gospel  has  received  the  most 
striking  additional  proof  Not  only  have  missionaries  in 
India  been  charged  by  the  natives  with  forging  its  faithful 
delineations  of  heathenism  after  their  arrival  in  that  country, 
but  when  it  has  filled  the  soul  with  a  sense  of  guilt  approach- 
ing to  agony,  and  which  nothing  human  could  allay,  it  has 
further  demonstrated  its  divinity  by  saying,  "  Peace,  be  still, 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  215 

and  there  was  a  great  calm."  How  often  has  the  convert 
from  heathenism  acknowledged,  like  Cupido,  the  well  known 
Hottentot,  that  while  listening  to  the  gospel  for  the  first  time, 
he  was  compelled  involuntarily  to  exclaim,  "  This  is  the  truth  ; 
that  is  what  I  want ! "  At  the  bare  announcement  of  the 
words,  "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from 
all  sin,"  the  devotee  walking  on  spikes  to  atone  for  his 
guilt,  has  thrown  off  his  torturing  sandals,  and  exclaimed, 
"  This  is  what  I  need,"  and  has  become  "  a  living  exposi- 
tion of  the  truth."  "'How  beautiful,  how  tender,  how 
kind,'  —  Anundo,  a  pupil  in  the  General  Assembly's  school, 
Calcutta  —  was  often  heard  to  exclaim,  while  reading  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  —  '  How  full  of  love  and  goodness  ! 
O,  how  unlike  the  spirit  and  maxims  of  Hindooism !  Surely 
this  is  the  truth  ! '  Never  was  there  a  more  striking  exempli- 
fication of  what  Owen  calls  '  the  self-evidencing  power  of  the 
Bible.'  "  *  And  so  strong  and  sufficient  does  this  self-com- 
mending internal  evidence  prove,  that  missionary  converts 
are  almost  uniformly  found  to  embrace  the  gospel  independ- 
ently of  its  external  proofs.  But  this  circumstance  itself  is 
additional  evidence  in  its  behalf.  Hindooism,  without  leav- 
ing its  native  land  to  challenge  examination,  has  been  falsified 
and  disproved.  The  microscope  alone  has  laid  its  pretensions 
in  the  dust,  by  proving  that  the  Maker  of  infusoria  and  ani- 
malcula  could  not  have  been  the  author  of  its  Shastres.  Ge- 
ography has  done  the  same  for  Mahometanism,  by  showing 
that  the  "  God  of  the  whole  earth  "  could  not  have  been  the 
author  of  the  Koran;  for  to  require  its  disciples,  during  the 
Ramadan,  to  fast  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun,  is 
to  proclaim  its  ignorance  of  the  arctic  and  antarctic  circles. 
But  wherever  Christianity  has  gone,  it  has  derived  additional 
evidence  of  its  self-commending  excellence  and  universal 
adaptation;  thus  strengthening  our  conviction  that  the  Maker 
of  man  and  the  Author  of  the  gospel  is  one  —  "the  only 
living  and  true  God." 

Still  further  is  this  conviction  deepened  by  the  illustration 
which  the  missionary  enterprise  affords  of  the  saving  power 
of  the  gospel.  Had  the  primitive  Christians  been  perplexed 
with  doubts  concerning  the  sufficiency  of  the  gospel  to  meet 
cases  of  extreme  depravity,  how  eminently  fitted  was  the  con- 

*  Holt,  p.  129;  furnished  by  Rev.  Dr.  Duff,  in  the  Scots  Presby- 
terian Review. 


216  REFLEX   SPIRITUAL  BENEFITS   OF 

version  of  Saul  of  Tarsus  to  remove  them  !  After  him,  of 
whom  need  they  despair  1  Now,  that  the  Christians  of  mod- 
ern times  did  very  generally  entertain  doubts  of  this  descrip- 
tion, is  matter  of  authentic  record.  Whatever  they  might 
hope  from  its  introduction  among  the  civilized  and  inquiring, 
they  were  more  than  distrustful  of  its  reception  among  the 
barbarous.  How  solemn  but  gracious  a  rebuke,  then,  have 
missionary  successes  been  the  means  of  administering  to  our 
unbelief,  and  what  illustrious  evidence  have  they  supplied 
that  the  gospel  is  still  "  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to 
every  one  that  believeth."  If  Christianity  has  conquered 
Tahiti  and  Labrador,  New  Zealand  and  CaiFraria,  what 
country  can  stand  before  it  when  accompanied  by  the  grace 
of  its  Author  ? 

In  the  history  of  its  progress  we  recognize  almost  every 
display  of  gracious  power  of  which  the  mind  can  conceive. 
It  has  melted  the  inflexible  Iroquois  into  penitence  and  tears ; 
and  has  enabled  the  shrinking  Hindoo  to  brave  the  loss  of 
caste  and  the  martyr's  pangs.  By  a  mightier  exorcism  than 
the  negro  or  the  Esquimaux  had  ever  imagined,  it  has  deliv- 
ered the  one  from  the  enslaving  fears  of  the  Obeah,  and  cast 
out  the  terrible  Torngak  from  the  creed  of  the  other.  What 
other  evidence  of  its  power  can  be  necessary  1  Under  its 
subduing  and  humanizing  influence,  the  convert  from  the 
frozen  zone  has  been  hailed  as  a  brother  in  Christ  by  the 
Christian  Indian  in  his  native  wilderness,  and  the  once  sav- 
age warrior  of  America  has  sent  letters  of  peace  and  love  to 
the  fisher  of  Greenland.  At  its  sound  the  barbarian  veteran 
of  a  hundred  battles,  and  of  a  hundred  years,  has  become  a 
little  child ;  and  a  host  of  warriors,  each  of  whom  would  once 
have  preferred  death  to  a  tear,  have  wept,  "  so  that  there  was 
a  very  great  mourning,  like  the  mourning  of  Hadadrimmon."  * 
What  other  evidence  can  be  necessary  ?  Instruments  which 
had  never  been  used  but  for  war  and  murder,  it  has  converted 
to  useful  and  even  sacred  purposes ;  f  and  tribes  which  had 
never  met  but  in  deadly  conflict,  it  assembles  together  around 
the  table  of  the  Lord.  It  has  declined  no  contest  through 
fear  of  defeat ;  and  wherever  it  has  gone,  it  has  erected  mon- 
uments of  its  saving  power. 

What  other   evidence  can  be  necessary  ?     To  my  mind, 

*  Brainerd's  Journal. 

t  Ellis's  Polynesian  Researches,  vol.  ii.  p.  519. 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS.  217 

says  the  eloquent  Richard  Watson,  there  is  nothing  in  the 
history  of  the  church  which  so  strikingly  exhibits  the  power 
of  our  religion,  as  its  triumphs  over  the  moral  evils  so  uni- 
formly and  necessarily  inherent  in  a  system  of  slavery.  Glo- 
rious were  the  effects  of  Christianity  among  the  slaves  of  the 
ancient  world.  It  gave  cheerfulness  to  submission,  and  pa- 
tience to  wrong;  it  created  charity  where  gratitude  could 
have  no  place ;  shut  the  lip  of  reproach,  and  silenced  mur- 
muring. But  owing  to  the  greater  evils  of  modern  slavery, 
religion,  in  our  colonies,  has  triumphed  more  gloriously  still. 
Its  light  has  penetrated,  so  to  speak,  the  solid  darkness  of 
mind  left  without  instruction ;  it  has  struck  the  chords  of 
feeling  in  hearts  unaccustomed  to  salutary  emotion  ;  it  has 
reconciled  man  to  the  degradation  of  color  and  feature ;  it 
has  produced  charity  towards  those  who  have  dealt  out  to 
them  the  most  humbling  kinds  of  insult ;  breathed  over  pas- 
sions, which  when  once  awakened  are  terrible,  the  calm  of 
resignation ;  and  taught  the  spirit,  spurned  from  every  other 
resting-place,  to  rest  in  God,  and  to  wait  for  his  salvation. 

What  other  evidence  of  its  power  can  be  necessary? 
Among  its  converts  are  men  whose  depravity  would  have 
compared  with  that  of  a  Jeroboam,  a  Manasseh,  or  a  Saul  of 
Tarsus;  —  Ananke,  the  Esquimaux  murderer;  and  the  Mo- 
hican, Tschoop,  a  monster  of  debauchery  and  vice ;  Afri- 
caner, the  plunderer  of  neighboring  tribes,  and  the  destroyer 
of  missionary  settlements ;  Tamatoa,  once  blasphemously 
worshipped  as  a  god ;  Vaza,  the  procurer  of  human  sacri- 
fices ;  and  Romatane,  the  devastator  of  islands.  By  the  min- 
istry of  the  gospel,  the  Savior  speaks  to  them  as  from  heaven, 
and  "  behold,  they  pray ! "  The  epitome  of  vice  becomes 
an  epistle  of  Christ.  The  demon  is  transformed  into  "  a 
pattern  of  the  believers."  The  sanguinary  chief  is  the  first 
to  beseech  and  adjure,  with  tears  of  entreaty,  those  to  whom 
his  name  had  been  a  terror,  and  whose  race  he  had  almost 
exterminated,  to  embrace  salvation.  What  other  evidence 
of  its  power  can  be  necessary  1  If  the  success  of  the  gos- 
pel on  its  first  promulgation  forms  an  evidence  of  its  divinity, 
the  success  of  the  modern  missionary  enterprise  must  be  re- 
ceived as  an  additional  evidence  to  the  same  effect.  It  has 
been  attended  with  spiritual  triumphs  of  the  same  kind,  and 
which  can  only  be  resolved  into  the  same  supernatural  cause. 
Then  surely  our  confidence  in  its  sufficiency,  as  the  instru- 
ment of  human  salvation,  should  be  proportionally  increased. 
19 


218  REFLEX    SPIRITUAL    BENEFITS   OF 

Thus  it  was  with  the  apostles.  And  if  doubts  of  the  divine 
sufficiency  of  the  gospel  ever  haunted  our  minds,  imparting 
feebleness  to  its  ministry,  and  creating  indifference  as  to  its 
diffusion,  what  should,  what  must  be  the  effect  of  its  subse- 
quent triumphs,  but  to  impart  ardor  to  our  activity,  and  earn- 
estness to  our  prayers,  and  a  moral  dignity  to  our  onward 
step,  eminently  conducive,  through  God,  to  still  greater  suc- 
cess. 

14.  And  not  only  has  the  missionary  enterprise  increased 
our  confidence  in  the  final  conversion  of  the  heathen,  —  it  has 
been  attended  by  the  salvation  of  many  of  our  own  country- 
men, both  at  home  and  abroad.  In  commencing  our  remarks 
on  the  reflex  spiritual  influence  of  Christian  missions,  we 
adverted  to  the  service  they  had  incidentally  rendered  the 
church  in  helping  to  break  up  the  prevailing  monotony  of 
its  religious  occupations.  Who  can  doubt  but  that,  humanly 
speaking,  many  a  youth  whom  that  monotony  would  have  re- 
pelled, has  been  held,  by  the  new  attraction  of  Christian 
activity,  in  allegiance  to  the  outward  service  of  God,  till 
renewing  grace  has  changed  his  heart?  And  who  can  ques- 
tion but  that  the  missionary  spirit,  thus  excited  and  bound 
up  with  early  associations,  has  given  its  character  to  the  man, 
and  is  animating  and  determining  the  useful  course  of  many, 
who,  but  for  this,  would  have  been  lost  to  the  church,  and 
devoted  to  the  world  1  Indeed,  the  conversion  of  some  has 
actually  taken  place,  not  in  the  sanctuary,  and  by  the  ordi- 
nary means  of  grace,  but  at  the  public  meetings  of  our  reli- 
gious societies. 

Still  more  marked  have  been  the  saving  effects  of  the  mis- 
sionary cause  upon  our  countrymen  abroad.  Between  thirty 
and  forty  years  ago,  Buchanan  wrote,  "  There  are  not  ten 
righteous  men  to  be  found  in  Calcutta."  "  At  that  time," 
says  another  missionary,  "  you  might  have  travelled  from  one 
extremity  of  India  to  the  other,  and  have  found  no  premoni- 
tion of  the  Sabbath-day  except  the  waving  of  flags  at  the 
military  stations.  As  to  the  mercantile  classes,  to  have 
closed  a  single  house  of  agency  on  the  Sabbath,  would  have 
been  looked  on  as  a  strange  deviation  from  the  customs  of 
commercial  life.  Now,  it  would  be  deemed  as  strange  a  de- 
parture from  decorum  in  India,  were  a  single  commercial 
house  to  keep  open  its  doors  on  that  sacred  day."  Then, 
many  of  our  countrymen  went  there,  not  only  almost  as  much 
strangers  to  the  gospel  of  peace  as  were  the  Hindoos  and 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  219 

Mahometans  themselves,  but,  amidst  the  polluting  influence 
of  heathenism,  they  became  ten  times  more  the  children  of 
hell  than  they  were  before  they  left  their  native  shores.  Now, 
among  all  classes,  but  especially  the  various  armies  in  her 
Majesty's  and  in  the  Honorable  Company's  service,  a  redeem- 
ing change  is  exhibited  to  a  most  remarkable  extent.  Many 
an  officer  emulates  the  "  centurion  of  the  Italian  band,"  in 
devout  and  active  piety.  Many  a  regiment  has  its  "  praying 
company,"  and  its  active  agents  of  Christian  benevolence. 
Many  a  prodigal  has  there  been  met  by  missionary  instru- 
mentality ;  has  himself  become  a  missionary,  and  preached 
the  faith  which  he  once  destroyed ;  and  many  others,  after 
an  absence  in  India  of  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  years,  have 
returned  to  be  the  means  of  the  conversion  of  their  own 
parents,  and  to  prove  distinguished  blessings  where  once 
they  had  been  a  curse. 

15.  And  innumerable  are  the  occasions  with  which  Chris- 
tian missions  have  furnished  the  church  for  glorifying  God. 
Not  only  did  the  design  itself  originate  with  God,  in  the 
sense  of  its  being  a  duty  to  be  found  in  his  gospel,  but,  on 
looking  back  and  remembering  the  stony  indifference  to  that 
design  evinced  by  the  church  in  general ;  and  the  actual 
opposition  to  the  first  steps  of  the  missionary  enterprise, 
offered  by  many  a  professed  Christian ;  and  the  truly  insig- 
nificant measures  in  which  the  work  began  —  measures  in 
which  the  actors  often  owed  their  toleration  to  contempt  — 
who  can  doubt  that  the  primary  human  movers  were  them- 
selves moved  by  God?  If  the  apostle  could  say  of  the  prim- 
itive churches,  "  They  glorified  God  in  me,"  how  often  have 
we  been  constrained  to  recognize  the  hand  of  God  in  raising 
up  and  baptizing  with  a  measure  of  the  apostolic  spirit  many 
a  modern  missionary  !  If  they  acknowledge  the  divine  super- 
intendence in  selecting  their  spheres  of  labor,  and  preparing 
the  way  for  their  successful  occupation,  how  often  have  we 
been  called  to  adore  the  presence  of  the  same  agency  in  the 
missionary  field,  manifested  in  unexpected  interpositions,  in 
the  universal  concurrence  of  multiplied  and  repellent  cir- 
cumstances, and  in  the  issue  of  the  whole  in  some  most  un- 
foreseen success  !  How  many  a  burst  of  sacred  joy  has  been 
occasioned  by  the  intelligence  of  new  conquests  achieved  over 
heathenism,  and  new  honors  accumulated  around  the  name 
we  love  —  joy,  the  most  pure,  ennobling,  and  rich,  which 
grace  can  awaken  in  the  faithful  on  earth,  and  which,  more 


220  REFLEX    SPIRITUAL    BENEFITS    OF 

than  any  other  sentiment,  connects  the  church  below  with 
the  church  above  in  one  spontaneous  ascription  of  praise. 

As  to  the  manner  in  which  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
of  these  triumphs  were  won,  —  who  can  mark  the  sudden 
abandonment  of  idolatry  in  the  Polynesian  islands  north  and 
south ;  in  the  latter,  when  the  mission  was  on  the  point  of 
being  relinquished  in  despair  ;  and  in  the  former,  by  the 
spontaneous  will  of  the  natives  before  any  missionary  had 
reached  them,  without  perceiving  how  evidently  God  designed 
to  secure  the  glory  of  the  work  to  himself?  How  often  and 
how  emphatically  have  we  been  taught  the  same  lesson  by 
the  superior  success  which  has  crowned  the  artless  efforts  of 
the  native  teachers  —  success  which  has  frequently  left  the 
British  missionary  nothing  to  do,  but,  like  Barnabas,  to  go 
and  see  the  grace  of  God,  and  be  glad.  On  comparing  the 
missionary  contributions  and  activity  of  the  churches  at  pres- 
ent—  small  as  they  still  are  —  with  the  apathy  of  the  past, 
and  remembering  the  grandeur  of  the  results  to  which  they 
tend,  how  many  a  Christian  has  been  led  to  say  with  the 
mingled  abasement  and  gratitude  of  David,  "  Who  am  I,  and 
what  is  my  people,  that  we  should  be  able  to  offer  so  willingly 
after  this  sort  ...  to  build  thee  a  house  for  thine  holy  name  ?  " 
What  deep  humiliation  has  been  felt  by  thousands  —  and 
never  perhaps  was  more  deeply  felt  than  at  this  moment  — 
at  the  fact  that  the  heathen  world  is  crying  to  us  for  spiritual 
help,  and  perishing  in  its  cries ;  that  God  is  saying  to  us  by 
his  word  and  providence,  "  Hasten  to  their  relief  with  the 
gospel,"  and  yet  that  we  should  be  so  deplorably  unprepared 
to  obey !  What  grateful  admiration,  that  God  should  have 
afforded  us  so  many  distinguished  proofs  that  he  is  still  in  the 
midst  of  us ;  and  what  earnest  entreaties  that  he  would  arouse 
the  entire  church  to  a  sense  of  its  new  and  vast  obligations, 
and  would  graciously  pour  out  upon  us  his  Spirit  from  on 
high !  The  direct  tendency  of  all  our  missionary  operations 
hitherto,  is  to  bring  the  church  on  its  knees  before  God  in 
unfeigned  gratitude  for  the  past,  and  entire  dependence  fcr 
the  future ;  prepared  to  inscribe  on  the  sublime  result  of  the 
whole,  "  To  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  grace." 

From  this  review  of  the  spiritual  benefits  of  Christian  mis- 
sions on  the  churches  at  home,  we  repeat  the  question  with 
which  the  section  commenced,  in  the  full  expectation  that  it 
admits  but  of  one  reply  —  Had  the  same  amount  of  effort 
which  the  missionary  object  has  received  been  devoted  to  the 


CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS.  221 

diffusion  of  piety  at  home,  is  there  any  reason  to  conclude 
that  our  country  would  have  reaped  greater  advantage  than 
it  is  now  enjoying  from  the  reflex  influence  of  that  object? 
Is  it  likely  that  more  would  have  been  done  to  impress  a  deep, 
salutary,  and  general  conviction  of  the  infinite  importance  of 
the  gospel ;  more  to  call  forth  the  resources  and  multiply  the 
agencies  of  Christian  usefulness;  more  to  counteract  the 
worldliness  of  the  church,  and  to  give  enlargement  and  eleva- 
tion to  its  views  and  affections ;  more  to  illustrate  the  excel- 
lence, and  to  raise  the  standard,  of  Christian  charity ;  more 
to  silence  the  irreligious  objector,  to  engage  the  intercessions 
of  the  faithful  in  the  behalf  of  the  world,  to  fill  us  with  devout 
dependence  and  holy  anticipation  for  the  future,  and  to  pre- 
pare the  church  to  arise  and  shine  as  the  light  of  the  world, 
and  to  prove,  through  God,  a  universal  blessing?  So  far 
from  this,  we  venture  to  affirm  that  not  only  would  less  have 
been  done  in  all  these  respects,  but  that,  humanly  speaking, 
had  it  not  been  for  the  influence  of  the  missionary  cause, 
many  a  society  now  in  active  operation  expressly  for  home 
would  never  have  come  into  existence;  many  a  heart,  which 
now  beats  high  with  a  hallowed  patriotism,  would  have  been 
cold  to  the  claims  of  home ;  and  many  a  Christian  church, 
now  known  as  the  centre  of  a  large  circumference  of  local 
benevolence,  would  have  been  comparatively  living  to  itself. 
And,  indeed,  what  is  all  this  but  saying,  in  effect,  that  the 
history  of  Christian  missions  will  eventually  be  found  to 
furnish  a  grand  illustration  of  that  sublime  principle  of  a 
kingdom  founded  in  love,  that  "  it  is  more  blessed  to  give 
than  to  receive  "  ? 


CHAPTER   IV 


ARGUMENT  DERIVED  FROM  THE  BENEFITS  OF  CHRISTIAN 
MISSIONS  FOR  THE  INCREASED  ACTIVITY  OF  THE 
CHRISTIAN     CHURCH. 

If  the  Christian  church  is  expressly  designed  to  imbody 

and  diffuse  the  influence  of  the  cross,  and  if  its  full  efficiency 

for  this  end  depends,  under   God,  on  the   entireness  of  its 

consecration  to  this  office,  we  may  expect  to  find  that  every 

19* 


222  THE    BENEFITS   OF   CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS 

page  of  its  history  illustrates  and  corroborates  the  fact.  Such 
is  the  remaik  with  which  we  opened  this  Second  Part.  But 
as  the  nature  and  limits  of  our  subject  forbade  us  to  open  the 
volume  of  ecclesiastical  history,  we  contented  ourselves  with 
remarking  generally,  that  the  period  of  the  first  and  greatest 
activity  of  the  church  was  the  season  of  its  greatest  prosper- 
ity ;  that  the  subsequent  decline  of  its  devotedness  was  the 
decline  of  its  prosperity ;  and  that,  as  every  departure  of  the 
church  from  its  missionary  design  has  been  invariably  avenged, 
so  every  return  to  that  character  may  be  expected  to  be  di- 
vinely acknowledged  and  blessed.  Such  a  return,  in  part, 
we  professed  to  recognize  in  the  operations  and  aims  of  our 
Protestant  missions.  And  the  subsequent  chapters  have  been 
intended  to  enable  us  to  show,  that,  as  far  as  their  history  is 
concerned,  it  may  be  made  most  clearly  and  impressively 
evident  that  every  step  in  return  to  the  aggressive  design  of 
the  Christian  church  is  a  proportionate  return  to  its  first 
prosperity.  It  remains,  therefore,  that  we  make  such  use  of 
those  chapters  as  shall  tend  to  render  this  fact  apparent ;  thus 
connecting  them  with  the  former  part,  and  strengthening  the 
whole  by  enforcing  the  additional  motive  supplied  to  entire 
Christian  consecration. 

I.  Now,  this  may  be  done  by  showing,  first,  that  our  mis- 
sionary success  has  been  fully  proportioned  to  our  efforts. 
Perhaps  the  only  persons  disposed  to  question  this  proportion 
of  success  will  be  found  among  those  who  would  have  been 
the  last  to  commence  those  efforts.  For  it  is  characteristic 
of  a  certain  class,  that  though  they  would  never  have  origi- 
nated an  enterprise,  they  are  among  the  earliest  and  the 
loudest  in  their  complaints  if  it  is  not  speedily  crowned  with 
complete  success.  No  sooner  do  they  awake  from  the  slum- 
ber of  doing  nothing,  than  they  seem  to  expect  that  every 
thing  will  rush  to  their  aid,  and  are  mortified  at  finding  that 
they  are  doomed,  like  all  their  predecessors,  to  work  by  means 
and  not  by  charms.  But  we  would  ask  such  persons,  what 
is  the  standard  by  which,  in  the  present  instance,  they  regu- 
late their  expectations  of  success.  Is  it  by  the  rapidity  with 
which  the  gospel  was  diffused  in  apostolic  times  ?  But  surely 
they  do  not  expect  this,  independently  of  the  zeal,  self-denial, 
and  earnest  supplications  which  distinguished  those  times. 
Or  would  they  say  that  the  proportion  of  success  now  is 
much  less,  as  compared   with  the  means  employed,  than  it 


AN    ARGUMENT    FOR   INCREASED   ACTIVITY.        223 

was  at  that  time,  even  allowing  for  the  present  diminution  of 
zeal  ?  But  how  is  the  rate  of  this  diminution  to  be  ascer- 
tained ?  and  yet,  until  it  is,  an  essential  element  of  the  ques- 
tion remains  undetermined.  The  truth  is,  that  although  the 
church  of  late  has  begun  to  exhibit  a  spirit  of  missionary 
activity,  of  zeal  it  knows  comparatively  little.  We  might 
ask  the  persons  supposed,  for  instance,  How  many  years,  or 
rather  how  many  hours,  have  you  given  to  this  object  of  your 
professed  solicitude  1  To  how  many  seasons  of  wrestling  in 
prayer  with  God;  and  to  how  many  acts  of  practical  self- 
denial  ;  and  to  how  many  efforts  to  enkindle  the  zeal  of 
others,  has  it  led  1  Do  you  not  think  that  it  will  be  high 
time  for  you  to  complain  of  slender  success,  when  you  can 
return  a  less  self-condemnatory  answer  to  inquiries  such 
as  these  ? 

Or,  would  they  regulate  their  expectations  of  success 
abroad  by  the  standard  of  home  ?  But  we  have  shown,  in 
a  preceding  chapter,  that  much  of  our  domestic  prosperity 
itself  is  ascribable,  under  God,  to  the  reflex  influence  of  our 
evangelical  operations  abroad.  Independently  of  this,  how- 
ever, could  we  only  bring  together  the  happy  results  of  those 
operations  from  the  various  parts  of  the  wide  field  over  which 
they  are  scattered,  and  place  them  beside  the  fruits  which 
religion  has  reaped  within  the  same  period  at  home,  —  making, 
of  course,  the  necessary  allowance  for  the  vast  disproportion 
of  means,  —  we  should  see  that,  if  these  fruits  at  home  call 
for  ordinary  thankfulness,  the  results  abroad  demand  the 
loftiest  ascriptions  of  praise. 

Are  we  asked,  then,  to  sum  up  the  benefits  resulting  from 
Christian  missions?  Enumerate  them  we  can,  and  have; 
but  estimate  their  value  we  cannot.  We  have  no  standard 
by  which  to  rate  the  worth  of  even  their  temporal,  much  less 
of  their  spiritual  advantages.  We  can  refer  the  inquirer  to 
the  temporal  good  they  confer  on  the  land  which  sends  them 
forth ;  and  if  he  be  a  patriot,  he  will  rejoice  to  hear  of  it. 
But  unless  he  can  furnish  us  with  an  instrument  for  deter- 
mining the  value  of  literature  and  science;  of  correct  and 
enlarged  views  of  the  actual  condition  of  man;  of  our  own 
national  character  ;  of  human  life ;  of  commerce ;  and  of 
safety  and  supplies  for  our  shipping ;  we  must  leave  the  pre- 
cise worth  of  that  good  to  his  own  imagination ;  for  in  all 
these  respects  have  they  been  eminently  useful.  Does  he  ask 
for  vouchers  ?     Let  him  consult  the  records  of  learned  socie- 


224  THE   BENEFITS    OF   CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS 

ties  ;  the  voluntary  testimony  of  disinterested  travellers ;  the 
"Evidence  on  the  Aborigines; "  the  incidental  as  well  as 
direct  testimony  in  official  reports  and  government  returns, 
to  all  of  which  we  have  distinctly  referred.  Let  him  ask  the 
crew  just  liberated  from  cannibal  hands,  at  what  price  they 
rate  the  value  of  the  missionary  influence  which  has  saved 
them  —  and  let  him  ascertain  how  many  crews  would  by  this 
time  have  been  sacrificed  but  for  that  influence;  or  what 
would  have  been  the  amount  of  the  waste  of  European  life 
before  commerce  could  have  obtained  even  a  footing  in  those 
barbarous  regions  where,  owing  to  that  same  influence,  it 
now  finds  a  welcome  and  a  home  1  Let  him  do  this,  and  we 
will  leave  him  to  his  own  conclusions  respecting  its  value. 

Is  he  a  philanthropist?  We  can  take  him  into  the  distant 
missionary  field,  and  point  him  to  happy  homes  and  peaceful 
villages  rising  amidst  wastes  where  lately  man  roamed  restless 
and  ferocious  as  the  beasts  with  which  he  contested  for 
supremacy ;  to  multitudes,  now  diligently  busied  in  the  arts 
of  civilized  life,  whose  hands  were  but  yesterday  red  with  the 
blood  of  their  fellows  ;  to  thousands  of  children  and  adults, 
trooping  to  their  respective  schools,  where,  a  short  time  ago, 
all  the  visible  signs  of  a  language  were  utterly  unknown ;  to 
organized  societies  and  the  ascendency  of  law,  where,  but 
recently,  to  be  lawless  was  reckoned  essential  to  enjoyment, 
and  to  kill  at  pleasure  the  highest  prerogative  ;  to  sober, 
honest,  highly  moralized  countries,  where,  lately,  rage  and 
intemperance  revelled  at  will ;  to  tribes  which  till  lately  never 
met  but  for  mutual  destruction,  but  whose  intercourse  now 
consists  entirely  in  the  reciprocation  of  benefits  and  tokens 
of  love ;  to  the  animalized  savage,  acting  the  man ;  to  the 
debased  slave,  now  walking  at  large  as  an  heir  of  freedom  ; 
to  degraded  woman,  raised  from  the  dust  and  restored  to  be 
the  partner  of  man  ;  to  hundreds  of  thousands  rescued  from 
the  curse  of  the  darkest  idolatry,  and  brought  into  the  light 
of  truth,  and  surrounded  with  the  means  of  social  improve- 
ment and  unending  happpiness.  But  this  is  not  enough. 
Having  surveyed  the  happy  change,  let  him  place  in  strong 
imaginary  contrast  with  it  what  would  probably  have  been  at 
this  moment  the  actual  state  of  all  those  human  beings  had  it 
not  been  for  missionary  intervention.  Let  him  imagine  how 
many  of  those  women  and  slaves  would  have  pined  and  per- 
ished under  brutal  oppression ;  how  certainly  those  imple- 
ments of  peace  would  all  have  been   in  request  as  weapons 


AN   ARGUMENT    FOR   INCREASED   ACTIVITY.  225 

of  murder  and  war;  how  many  of  those  children  would  have 
been  immolated;  how  many  of  those  islands  would  have  been 
depopulated,  and  of  those  tribes  exterminated ;  and  then,  in 
what  way  the  wretched  survivors  wouVl  most  likely  have  been 
now  employed.  Let  him  then  say,  if  he  can,  what  is  the 
value  of  the  change  which  has  been  produced ;  of  the  knowl- 
edge by  which  all  that  ignorance  which  was  in  actual  posses- 
sion has  been  displaced ;  of  the  morality  and  freedom  by 
which  all  that  vice,  bondage,  and  idolatry  have  been  swept 
away ;  of  the  humanity  by  which  that  effusion  of  human  blood 
has  been  prevented,  and  all  those  lives  been  saved ;  and  of 
those  moral  principles,  and  social  habits,  by  which  all  that 
has  yet  taken  place  will  only  be  employed  as  means  of  im- 
provement for  all  the  future.  Let  him  do  this,  and  we  will 
tell  him  the  worth  of  the  missionary  enterprise  to  the  cause 
of  philanthropy. 

Or,  is  he  who  urges  the  inquiry  a  Christian  ?  To  you,  we 
might  reply,  to  you  we  can  speak  of  spiritual  results.  Not 
that  you  value  the  temporal  benefits  less  than  the  patriot  or 
the  philanthropist,  for  you  are  both;  but  that  you  value  the 
spiritual  blessings  more.  Tell  us,  if  you  can,  how  all  the 
property  by  which  the  missionary  object  has  been  sustained 
would  have  been  employed;  how  all  the  time  would  have 
been  spent  which  has  been  occupied  in  collecting,  pleading, 
and  laboring  for  the  object,  or  in  reading  and  hearing  of  it ; 
and  what  would  have  been  the  character  of  all  the  myriads 
of  thoughts  and  feelings  which  would,  during  that  time,  have 
left  their  eternal  signature  on  the  mind,  had  that  object  never 
existed  to  engage  and  engross  it ;  for,  in  order  to  compute 
its  value,  it  is  necessary  to  know  the  evil  which  it  has  been 
the  means  of  preventing,  as  well  as  the  positive  good  which 
it  has  been  instrumental  in  producing.  Tell  us,  if  you  can, 
the  value  of  that  knowledge  which  maketh  wise  unto  salva- 
tion ;  of  that  love  which  passeth  knowledge ;  and  of  that  peace 
which  passeth  all  understanding  —  and  we  will  tell  you  the 
worth  of  missionary  instrumentality,. for  it  has  been  the  means 
of  imparting  all  these  to  thousands.  Tell  us,  in  answer  to 
the  question  of  our  common  Lord,  "  What  shall  it  profit  a 
man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  yet  lose  his  own  soul  V  — 
and  from  the  amount  of  that  fearful  loss  we  will  compute  the 
gain  of  missionary  instrumentality,  for  it  has  been  the  means 
of  saving  the  souls  of  thousands.  Tell  us,  or  ask  the  re- 
deemed in  glory  to  tell,  by  what  line  we  can  sound  the  depths 


226  THE   BENEFITS    OF   CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS 

of  that  pit  from  which  they  have  escaped,  —  by  what  scale 
we  can  take  the  height  of  the  bliss  to  which  they  have 
attained,  —  or  where  are  the  balances  in  which  we  can  lay 
an  eternal  weight  of  glory,  and  we  will  tell  you  the  value  of 
missionary  labor ;  for  it  has  instrumentally  saved  thousands 
from  hell,  and  prepared  them  for  heaven.  Think  of  the  state 
in  which  the  Christian  missionary  found  "  the  nations  of 
them  that  are  saved  ;  "  —  of  that  horrid  system  composed  of 
lies,  and  crimes,  and  curses,  and  woes,  which  he  found  in 
tyrannical  possession  ;  of  the  dreadful  aspect  with  which  it 
confronted  heaven ;  of  its  mad  devotedness  to  the  spirit  and 
purposes  of  hell.  But  now,  see,  the  whole  has  vanished. 
The  first  house  they  build  is  the  house  of  God.  Almost 
their  only  book  is  the  Bible.  Among  their  days  they  now 
number  and  keep  holy  the  Christian  Sabbath.  And  almost 
the  only  form  of  society  they  know  is  that  of  the  Christian 
church.  "  Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,"  and 
he  graciously  dwells  among  them.  If  you  could  not  have 
looked  down,  with  Balaam,  upon  the  vast  encampments  of 
Israel  on  the  plains  of  Moab,  without  emotions  of  delight;  if 
you  could  not  have  witnessed  the  scenes  of  Pentecost,  or  have 
"  seen  the  grace  of  God  at  Antioch,"  without  being  "  glad ;  " 
how  can  you  adequately  express  your  gratitude  and  joy  at 
beholding  these  fruits  of  Christian  missions  1  If  you  are  truly 
conscious  of  Christian  compassion,  think  of  all  the  bodily 
sufferings,  the  moral  evils,  the  mental  anguish,  which  they 
have  been  the  means  of  preventing  or  removing  ;  of  the  hope, 
and  peace,  and  joy,  they  have  imparted  on  earth  ;  of  that 
"  wrath  to  come "  from  which  they  have  instrumentally 
snatched  immortal  souls;  and  of  that  "joy  of  your  Lord," 
to  which  they  have  introduced  them  ;  and  you  will  fall  down 
afresh  and  bless  God  for  the  honor  which  he  has  put  on  the 
missionary  enterprise.  If  you  are  sincerely  "  jealous  for  the 
Lord  of  hosts,"  think  of  all  the  instances  in  which  they  have 
been  the  means  of  converting  idol  temples  into  places  of 
Christian  worship ;  of  disparaging  idolatry  in  the  very  spot 
where  for  ages  it  had  reigned ;  and  of  calling  the  idolater 
himself  to  join  in  the  worship  of  the  only  living  and  true  God. 
And  think  what  honor  has,  in  every  such  instance,  been  put 
on  the  love  of  the  Father,  on  the  mediation  of  Christ,  and  on 
the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  with  what  infinite  compla- 
cency they  have  contemplated  the  glorious  change ;  and  what 
strains  of  seraphic  joy  it  has  called  forth  among  the  angels 


AN    ARGUMENT   FOR   INCREASED    ACTIVITY.       227 

of  God ;  and  you  will  gratefully  acknowledge,  with  a  depth 
of  conviction  which  perhaps  you  never  felt  before,  that  our 
missionary  success  has  immeasurably  exceeded  the  propor- 
tion of  our  efforts. 

Yes,  exceeded !  for  think  how  recently  those  efforts  were 
commenced.  The  generation  that  began  them  has  not  yet 
entirely  passed  away.  How  much  of  the  short  time  which 
has  since  elapsed  has  been  necessarily  consumed  in  prepara- 
tory work ;  in  learning  the  languages  of  the  people  visited ; 
translating  the  Scriptures  into  those  languages;  preparing 
elementary  books ;  instructing  the  natives  to  read ;  in  erect- 
ing the  requisite  machinery,  and  bringing  it  into  working 
order  !  How  many  alterations  and  improvements  have  been 
suggested  ;  and  how  much  we  had  to  learn,  as  to  the  best 
method  of  conducting  missionary  labors  !  And  how  small  a 
proportion  of  the  church  even  yet  is  zealously  engaged  in 
promoting  them  !  Many  of  these  disheartening  considerations 
were  graciously  allowed  to  remain  hidden  from  the  eyes  of 
those  who  originated  the  missionary  enterprise.  But  could  we 
ask  the  most  sanguine  among  them  whether,  notwithstanding, 
the  event  had  equalled  their  first  expectations  of  success, 
and  could  we  show  them  at  the  same  time  all  the  salutary 
influence  which  that  enterprise  has  reflected  on  the  cause  of 
religion  at  home,  we  should  hear  from  them  all  a  repetition 
of  the  grateful  language,  so  often  on  their  lips,  "  What  hath 
God  wrought !  He  hath  done  exceeding  abundantly  above 
all  we  asked  or  thought !  " 

Nor  have  our  missionary  successes  exceeded  our  expecta- 
tions in  a  single  respect  only.  They  have  been  the  means 
of  accomplishing  good  of  a  kind  which  we  did  not  contem- 
plate. Who  thought,  for  instance,  of  their  benefiting  the 
slave  in  any  but  a  religious  respect  ?  And  had  any  one  been 
heard  to  pray  that  they  might  lead  to  his  emancipation,  he 
would  certainly  have  been  silenced  for  his  indiscretion  or  his 
presumption.  So  remote  was  such  an  issue  from  our  views, 
that  for  years  our  missionaries  rather  concealed  the  miseries 
of  the  slave,  lest,  by  displeasing  the  planter,  they  should  be 
denied  access  to  the  objects  of  their  solicitude.  And  yet  to 
missionary  influence,  under  God,  the  abolition  of  slavery  is 
unquestionably  to  be  ascribed. 

Nor  has  the  sphere  of  this  influence  less  exceeded  our  ex- 
pectations than  the  kind  of  good  which  it  has  effected.  We 
thought  only  of  sending  the  gospel  to  heathen  lands:    but 


228  THE   BENEFITS   OF   CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS 

our  own  country,  as  we  have  seen,  has  been  a  gainer,  by  the 
enterprise,  of  the  richest  blessings. 

And  as  in  the  sphere,  so  in  the  time  when  this  reflex  influ- 
ence began  to  operate.  While  we  were  calculating  on  the 
good  to  result  to  others  in  a  coming  period,  we  found  ourselves 
in  actual  possession.  In  merely  designing  to  bless,  we  our- 
selves were  blessed.  The  benefit  flowing  from  Christian 
missions  dates,  not  from  the  first  year  of  their  existence,  nor 
from  their  first  hour,  but  from  their  earliest  moment.  From 
that  auspicious  moment  to  the  present,  they  have  been  dis- 
charging on  the  churches,  generally,  showers  of  the  richest 
influence.  And  have  they  been  the  means  of  doing  so  much 
good?  Why  did  we  not  begin  them  sooner?  and  why  are 
we  not  now  prosecuting  them  with  greater  zeal  ? 

II.  We  may  expect  to  find  also  that  advantages  have  flowed 
from  our  returning  activity  which  nothing  else  could  have 
conferred.  And  the  reason  of  this  is  sufficiently  obvious ;  — 
the  planet  is  now  moving  in  its  appointed  orbit ;  the  church 
is  advancing  in  a  line  with  the  purposes  of  omnipotence,  and 
in  harmony  with  its  own  principles.  If,  before,  it  had  been 
hampered  with  forms,  customs,  and  corruptions,  at  every 
effort  which  it  now  makes  to  move,  some  portion  of  these  old 
incrustations  of  evil  fall  off;  a  desire  to  advance  aright 
sends  it  to  consult  the  Word  of  God  ;  a  concern  to  retrieve 
its  past  indolence  fills  it  with  a  zeal  that  calls  on  "  all  men 
every  where  to  repent;  "  the  conversions  which  ensue  furnish 
it  with  a  means  of  enlarging  its  sphere  of  activity.  The 
existence  of  all  this  both  proves  the  presence  of  the  Divine 
Spirit  in  the  midst  of  it,  and  leads  it  to  earnest  cries  for  still 
larger  effusions  of  his  influence;  and  thus,  by  action  and 
reaction,  an  increase  of  its  prosperity  leads  to  importunate 
prayer  for  larger  impartations  of  the  Spirit,  and  larger  im- 
partations  of  the  Spirit  necessarily  produce  an  increase  of 
divine  prosperity. 

Let  us  look  at  the  Christians  and  Christian  denomina- 
tions of  Britain  at  present ;  and  say,  what  but  their  activity 
for  God,  and  the  salutary  effects  of  that  activity  on  them- 
selves, constitute  the  sign  and  means  of  their  visible  prosper- 
ity? Take  away  this,  and  what  single  feature  would  remain 
on  which  the  spiritual  eye  could  rest  with  pleasure  ?  Their 
orthodoxy?  That  would  be  their  condemnation;  for,  if 
their  creed  be  scriptural,  activity  and  zeal  for  God  are  neces- 
sary, if  only  to  make  them  consistent  with  themselves.     The 


AN    ARGUMENT    FOR   INCREASED   ACTIVITY.       229 

numbers  they  include  ?  The  world  outnumbers  them  ;  and 
it  is  only  by  their  aggressive  activity,  blessed  by  God,  that 
they  can  hope  to  keep  their  disproportion  from  increasing. 
Their  liberality?  Apart  from  this  Christian  activity,  where 
would  be  the  calls  on  that  liberality  1  It  is  this  which  brings 
it  into  exercise,  and  by  exercise  augments  it.  Their  union 
with  each  other  1  This  activity  for  enlarging  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  is  almost  the  only  bond  which,  at  present,  does 
unite  them  ;  take  away  this,  and  nearly  the  last  ligament  of 
their  visible  union  would  be  snapped.  Their  spirit  of  prayer  ? 
That  has  been  called  into  exercise  almost  entirely  by  means 
of  their  Christian  activity  ;  for,  feeling  the  utter  insufficiency 
of  their  own  endeavors,  they  have  earnestly  entreated  God  to 
make  bare  his  arm  in  their  behalf. 

From  our  returning  activity,  then,  in  the  cause  of  human 
salvation,  advantages  have  resulted  which  nothing  else  could 
have  conferred.  Amidst  scenes  of  political  strife,  it  has 
brought  to  us  visions  of  a  kingdom  which  is  not  of  this 
world.  Amidst  scenes  of  ecclesiastical  discord,  it  has  pro- 
vided one  standard  around  which  all  can  rally  against  the 
common  foe.  Amidst  the  icy  selfishness  of  the  world  around, 
it  has  called  forth  warm  streams  of  Christian  liberality.  It 
has  given  employment  to  energies  which  would  otherwise 
have  been  wasted  in  the  arena  of  angry  controversy.  It  has 
been  the  means  of  originating  various  institutions,  which  are 
destined  to  hasten  the  great  consummation  ;  and  of  calling  into 
existence  specimens  of  Christian  excellence  and  heroism  of 
which  the  world  is  not  worthy.  To  the  visible  church  it  has 
given  a  heart,  stirred  its  deepest  sympathies  for  the  world, 
brought  considerable  accessions  to  its  numbers,  imparted  ad- 
ditional interest  to  its  services,  enlivened  its  piety,  enlarged 
its  views,  and  brightened  its  visions  of  the  reign  of  Christ. 
It  has  been  the  means  of  disarming  infidelity  of  some  of  its 
most  specious  objections,  illustrated  afresh  the  divinity  of  the 
gospel,  increased  the  confidence  of  Christians  in  its  ultimate 
triumphs,  and  furnished  them  with  some  of  the  most  remark- 
able occasions  for  ascribing  glory  to  God.  Many  of  them  it 
has  filled  with  a  sense  of  self-dissatisfaction,  of  utter  depend- 
ence on  God,  of  aching  want  and  craving  desire  for  some- 
thing more  and  something  better  for  the  church  than  it  yet 
possesses ;  so  that  their  loudest  prayers  are  prayers  for  the 
promised  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  From  all  of  which 
we  infer,  that  a  full  return  in  faith  and  prayer  to  the  aggres- 
20 


230  THE    BENEFITS    OF   CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS 

sive  design  of  the  Christian  church,  would  be  a  full  return 
to  its  original  prosperity. 

III.  But  this  is  further  apparent,  and  the  whole  of  this 
second  Part  connects  itself  with  the  former  by  the  important 
fact  that  the  history  which  it  details  of  the  missionary  enter- 
prise remarkably  illustrates  every  particular  there  advanced 
on  the  theory  of  Christian  influence.  This,  indeed,  might 
have  been  expected ;  for  it  is  only  saying  that  the  same  prin- 
ciples, when  put  into  operation  under  the  same  circumstances, 
produce  the  same  effects.  Accordingly,  the  records  of 
modern  missions  might  easily  be  made  to  furnish  the  most 
striking  comment  on  the  "  Acts  of  the  Apostles,"  and  to 
illustrate  every  principle  of  the  missionary  constitution  of 
the  church. 

How  strikingly  do  they  exemplify  at  once  the  attractive 
and  the  expansive  power  of  the  cross  of  Christ !  Here  is 
an  humble  individual,  a  Carey  or  a  Mills,  a  Hall  or  an  Egede, 
meditating  in  solitude  an  attempt  to  convert  the  heathen. 
Never,  surely,  was  project  more  remote  from  the  sphere  of 
worldly  calculation.  It  is  almost  beyond  the  range  even  of 
ordinary  Christian  sympathy.  What  is  to  account  for  it? 
Has  some  personal  command,  or  supernatural  visitation, 
called  him  by  name  to  undertake  the  work?  No,  the  love 
of  Christ  alone  constrains  him  ;  and  the  known  requirements 
of  Christianity  are  his  authority.  The  ignorant  may  pity 
him  as  foolish,  the  irreligious  may  pronounce  him  mad,  and 
even  his  professed  fellow-Christians  may  deem  him  rash  and 
zealous  overmuch.  But  he  is  simply  "  thus  judging,"  that  if 
the  world  is  perishing,  and  if  Christ  died  for  its  redemption, 
he,  knowing  the  fact,  is  bound  to  proclaim  it.  He  "  cannot 
but  speak  the  things  which  he  has  seen  and  heard." 

Months,  perhaps  years,  elapse,  but  still  the  fire  of  his  pur- 
pose burns  on  with  unabated  strength.  Reflection  and  prayer 
only  increase  its  ardor  :  at  length,  he  finds,  with  untold  de- 
light, that,  like  the  caloric  diffused  through  physical  sub- 
stances, the  principle  of  benevolence  lying  dormant  in  the 
heart  of  some  with  whom  he  holds  communion,  is  beginning 
to  disengage  by  collision,  and  to  ignite  into  a  flame  of  sym- 
pathetic Christian  zeal.  They  join  him  in  prayer,  aid  his 
resources,  and  urge  him  to  depart  "  far  hence  among  the  Gen- 
tiles." 

If  we  follow  him,  after  a  while,  to  the  scene  of  his  mis- 


AN    ARGUMENT   FOR   INCREASED   ACTIVITY.       231 

sionary  labors,  what  is  the  spectacle  we  behold?  To  an 
uninstructed  observer  we  might  say,  See  you  those  savages 
sitting,  mourning,  and  melting  around  him  ?  He  is  telling 
them  the  tale  of  the  cross.  Do  you  remark  how  the  stolid 
countenances  of  others  are  awakening  into  intelligence,  and 
their  very  attitudes  indicating  an  anxiety  to  understand  ? 
"  Jesus  Christ  has  been  evidently  set  forth  crucified  among 
them."  Do  you  observe  how  others  are  busily  occupied  in 
building  around? — Blessed  Savior,  thou  hast  triumphed; 
thou  art  drawing  all  men  unto  thee !  —  for,  in  effect,  they 
are  building  around  the  cross !  Abandoning  their  idols  and 
their  wandering  habits,  they  have  found  the  true  centre  of 
attraction,  and  rejoice  to  be  near  it.  "  It  was  when  I  dis- 
coursed to  the  multitude,"  says  Brainerd,  "  on  that  sacred 
passage,  '  Yet  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him,'  that  the 
word  was  attended  with  a  resistless  power;  many  hundreds 
in  that  great  assembly,  consisting  of  three  or  four  thousand, 
were  much  affected,  so  that  there  was  a  very  great  mourning, 
like  to  the  mourning  of  Hadadrimmon."  "  How  was  that  ?  " 
said  the  affected  Kaiarnac,  when,  after  the  "  rationalizing 
process"  had  long  been  tried  on  the  Greenlanders  in  vain, 
the  history  of  our  Lord's  sufferings  was  at  length  read  to 
them  —  "  How  was  that?  tell  me  that  once  more,  for  I  would 
fain  be  saved  too." 

But  if  the  gospel  of  Christ  possesses  this  power  of  subdu- 
ing the  heart  to  its  own  expansive  purposes,  we  may  expect  to 
see  even  the  converted  savage  attempting  the  conversion  of 
those  around  him.  Nor  do  we  expect  this  in  vain.  Kaiarnac 
himself  is  an  illustration  in  point.  "  His  family,  consisting 
of  nine  persons,  were  the  first  that  were  brought  under  con- 
viction by  his  words  and  conduct ;  and  before  the  month  was 
over,  three  large  families  of  natives  came,  with  all  their 
effects,  and  pitched  their  tents  beside  the  dwellings  of  the 
Moravians."*  Thus  the  gospel  extends  its  influence  from 
the  individual  to  the  family,  and  from  the  family  to  the 
neighborhood. 

"  The  natives,"  writes  a  missionary  in  New  Zealand,  "  are 
beginning  to  itinerate  among  their  countrymen  to  preach  the 
gospel.  Surely  good  times  are  near  at  hand  for  this  country. 
The  desire  which  some  of  the  young  men  manifest  for  the 
salvation  of  the  souls  of  their    countrymen  evidently  points 

*  Carne,  vol.  i.  p.  237. 


232  THE   BENEFITS    OF   CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS 

out  the  nature  of  the  religion  which  they  profess."  *  In  one 
station  we  behold  a  vast  assembly  of  native  converts  ad- 
dressed by  Christian  chiefs  and  others,  and  urged  by  compas- 
sion for  "  lost  souls,"  and  by  gratitude  for  their  own  salva- 
tion, to  embark  in  a  missionary  enterprise  among  the  idolaters 
beyond.  In  another  we  hear  a  venerable  chief  lamenting  in 
the  midst  of  his  people  that  he  is  not  young  enough  to  go  on 
such  an  errand  of  mercy,  and  praying  that  the  churches  of 
the  station  might  be  honored  to  "  supply  brethren  to  bear  the 
gospel  to  more  populous  lands."  Elsewhere,  we  hear  the 
chief  of  one  island,  who  has  sailed  far  to  address  the  chiefs 
of  another,  exclaiming,  at  the  close  of  his  earnest  appeal, 
"  Grasp  with  a  firm  hold  the  word  of  Jehovah ;  for  this  alone 
can  make  you  a  peaceable  and  happy  people.  I  should  have 
died  a  savage,  had  it  not  been  for  the  gospel."  And  there, 
another,  under  similar  circumstances,  exclaiming,  as  he  steps 
forward  and  seizes  the  heathen  chief  by  the  hand,  "  Rise, 
brother,  tear  off  the  garb  of  Satan,  and  become  a  man  of 
God." 

The  inhabitants  of  eight  islands,  says  one  of  the  witnesses 
in  the  "  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,"  were  entirely  con- 
verted to  Christianity  by  the  agency  of  native  mission- 
aries  We  have  about  sixty  or  seventy,  and  that  number 

is  increasing ;  because,  wherever  the  gospel  is  attended  with 
beneficial  effects,  a  new  agency  is  created  therefor  its  still  fur- 
ther propagation The  original  station  was  only  one 

island,  that  of  Tahiti ;  and  the  knowledge  of  Christianity 
was  conveyed  to  the' islands  where  the  American  missionaries 
are,  and  to  the  Friendly  Islands,  by  native  agency.  We  have 
forty  or  fifty  islands  under  instruction  at  the  present  time  by 
native  agency. 

What  a  strong  scriptural  illustration  of  the  expansive 
power  of  the  gospel  is  here  !  "  The  Spirit  and  the  bride  say, 
Come."  Every  church  regards  itself  as  a  missionary  society. 
Some  of  their  first  property  was  sent  home  to  aid  the  cause 
of  missions.  Their  best  men  are  called  forth  and  devoted  to 
the  missionary  office.  With  a  simplicity  and  singleness  of 
purpose  worthy  of  apostolic  times,  they  go  forth,  often  at  the 
imminent  hazard  of  their  lives,  to  proclaim  salvation  to  remoter 
islands.  And  wherever  they  have  proceeded  hitherto,  unex- 
ampled success  has  attended  their  labors,  "  the  Lord  working 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  pp.  121,  122. 


AN    ARGUMENT    FOR   INCREASED   ACTIVITY.       233 

with  them."  And  thus  the  distant  field  of  missionary  labor 
presents  at  this  moment  the  noble  spectacle  of  a  vast  sphere 
in  Christian  activity.  Not  for  itself  merely,  but  for  an  ever- 
enlarging  circumference  beyond. 

IV.  Now,  what  a  powerful  motive  should  all  this  supply  to 
the  increase  of  our  missionary  zeal !  If  every  event  of  Provi- 
dence has  a  voice  and  a  lesson,  the  only  interpretation  we  can 
give  to  the  language  uttered  by  our  missionary  success,  is  that 
of  one  unbroken  call  to  greater  diligence.  After  making  the 
preceding  circuit  of  the  missionary  field,  and  taking  a  survey 
of  the  results  of  our  past  attempts,  can  we  return  into  the 
presence  of  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  without  feeling  how 
justly  he  might  say  to  us,  as  he  did  to  his  disciples  at  the 
close  of  their  first  itineracy,  "Lacked  ye  any  thing?"  and 
how  confidently  he  might  await  the  same  reply,  "  Nothing, 
Lord."  You  were  ignorant,  he  might  continue  to  say,  and 
one  of  the  direct  tendencies  of  my  dispensations  towards  you 
has  been  to  instruct  you  in  the  heavenly  art  of  doing  good. 
You  were  fearful  and  unbelieving ;  and  I  rebuked  your 
doubts,  not  in  judgment,  but  by  affording  you  unexpected 
disclosures  of  my  resources  and  my  grace.  You  had  enemies ; 
many  of  them  exist  no  longer  :  others  I  have  changed  into 
friends;  and  of  those  that  remain  I  have  taught  you  to 
believe  that  "  their  end  draweth  nigh."  From  many  a  scene 
of  apparently  fruitless  labor  you  were  inclined  to  withdraw 
dejected ;  but  I  gave  you  grace  to  persevere,  and  Heaven 
heard  the  result  in  your  grateful  shouts  of  rejoicing  triumph. 

Where  have  you  labored  in  vain  1  Your  own  recorded 
testimony  is,  that"  success,  to  a  certain  extent,  has  invariably 
attended  your  missionary  exertions  among  the  heathen."  * 
Name  an  instance,  if  you  can,  in  which  an  attempt  to  intro- 
duce the  gospel  among  a  barbarous  people,  and  perseverance 
in  the  use  of  suitable  means,  have  not  been  attended  with  a 
measure  of  success.  Even  where  that  success  has  been  ap- 
parently delayed,  was  it  not  as  much,  if  not  more,  eventually, 
than  as  if  it  had  been  early  and  gradually  sent  1  Has  not  the 
scene  of  your  greatest  dejection  repeatedly  proved  the  occa- 
sion of  your  greatest  triumph  1  And  as  to  the  tendency  of 
your  missionary  activity  to  benefit  yourselves,  say  by  what 
other  process  you  can  suppose  your  advantage  would  have 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  p.  132. 
20* 


234  THE    BENEFITS    OF    CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS 

been  greater.  By  what  other  means  could  you  have  equally 
learned  the  secret  of  mutual  Christian  influence ;  of  the  stim- 
ulating effect  of  individual  devotedness  upon  a  church,  and 
of  one  church  upon  another,  and  of  one  denomination  upon 
every  other  part  of  the  Christian  community ;  the  great  fact  that 
for  a  single  Christian  to  move  in  my  service  is  sure  eventually 
to  move  the  entire  church,  and  to  hasten  the  conversion  of 
the  world  ?  Or  by  what  other  means  could  I  have  equally 
illustrated  the  fact  that  my  church  is  constituted  expressly  for 
this  end,  and  that  its  welfare  depends  on  its  becoming  the 
channel  of  my  Spirit  to  the  world,  and  of  thus  answering  the 
great  relative  object  of  its  existence  ? 

But  if  so  many  ends  have  been  answered,  and  so  much 
good  has  been  accomplished  by  the  comparatively  slender 
amount  of  instrumentality  which  you  have  already  put  into 
motion,  what  might  you  not  have  been  the  means  of  effecting, 
had  your  activity  but  equalled  your  resources?  For  though 
my  sovereignty  is  at  liberty  to  act  as  independently  as  I 
please,  both  of  your  instrumentality,  and  of  my  own  prom- 
ises, in  exceeding  your  just  expectations ;  and  though,  in  this 
sense,  I  will  still  be  "  found  of  them  that  sought  me  not,"  yet 
as  you  have  never  asked  but  I  have  answered,  never  labored 
but  I  have  blessed,  think  how  many  a  region  still  sitting  in 
darkness  might  have  been  added  to  those  which  you  have 
been  the  means  of  bringing  into  marvellous  light ! 

And  now,  when  will  you  be  satisfied  with  success  ?  You 
say  that  you  are  grateful  for  the  past ;  but  remember  that 
whatever  you  may  profess,  the  amount  of  your  present  activity 
describes  the  exact  degree  of  your  gratitude.  You  profess  to 
recognize  a  connection  and  a  proportion  between  the  measure 
of  your  instrumentality  and  your  success ;  are  you  then  already 
satisfied  with  the  good  effected,  that  you  do  not  increase  your 
Christian  activity  ?  This  you  profess  to  be  quite  impossible  : 
nothing,  you  avow,  can  ever  arrest  your  activityy  or  satisfy  your 
desires,  till  my  gospel  has  leavened  the  heart  of  humanity,  and 
its  laws  have  become  interwoven  with  every  human  govern- 
ment ;  till  wars  have  ceased  to  the  ends  of  the  earth ;  a  sorrow- 
ing world  has  dried  up  its  tears ;  till  the  reign  of  sin  be  ended, 
and  one  universal  transporting  song  ascend  from  every  land  in 
honor  of  Him  by  whom  the  victory  is  achieved.  Why  then  do 
you  not  aim  at  greater  proportion  between  the  splendor  of  your 
expectations  and  the  measure  of  your  endeavors  ?  I  am  not 
exhausted  with  imparting;    are  you  weary   with   receiving? 


AN   ARGUMENT   FOR   INCREASED   ACTIVITY.        235 

As  yet  you  have  only  received  the  first-fruits ;  when  will  you 
be  prepared  for  the  harvest  1  I  have  only  at  present  begun  to 
bless ;  but  "  prove  me  now  herewith,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
if  I  will  not  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven,  and  pour  you 
out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to  receive 
it.  And  I  will  rebuke  the  devourer  for  your  sakes,  and  he 
shall  not  destroy  the  fruits  of  your  ground ;  neither  shall  your 
vine  cast  her  fruit  before  the  time  in  the  field,  saith  the  Lord 
of  hosts.  And  all  nations  shall  call  you  blessed ;  for  ye  shall 
be  a  delightsome  land,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts." 


PART  III 


ENCOURAGEMENT   OF   CHRISTIANS    TO   PROSECUTE   THE 
MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE. 


As  far  as  human  agency  is  concerned  in  the  eventual  tri- 
umph of  the  gospel,  he  who  despairs  of  that  triumph  is  doing 
all  he  can  to  prevent  it ;  and  he  who  confidently  and  consist- 
ently expects  it  is  materially  contributing  to  promote  it. 
While  it  is  admitted,  therefore,  as  an  axiom  in  Christian 
morals,  that  encouragements  to  duty  do  not  form  the  ground 
of  our  obedience,  yet  when  such  encouragements  are  gra- 
ciously afforded,  not  to  regard  them  would  be  sullen  ingrati- 
tude against  God,  and  not  to  feel  them  is  to  remain  insensible 
to  some  of  the  most  cheering  and  powerful  inducements  to 
increased  activity.  Encouragements  to  missionary  labor,  and 
to  anticipate  the  final  success  of  that  labor,  lie  around  us  on 
every  side.  In  collecting  and  presenting  some  of  the  more 
obvious  among  them  to  Christian  attention,  it  may  contribute 
to  clearness,  and  sufficiently  answer  our  present  object,  if  we 
consider  them  in  succession,  as  historical,  political,  moral, 
ecclesiastical,  and  evangelical ;  after  which  we  shall  mark  their 
relation  to  the  preceding  parts,  and  their  practical  application. 


SECTION  I. 

ENCOURAGEMENT    FROM    HISTORY. 

The  first  encouragement  to  missionary  labor  to  which  we 
invite  attention,  is  that  which  is  derivable  from  the  history  of 
the  propagation  of  Christianity.     In  attempting  the  diffusion 


ENCOURAGEMENTS    AS   TO   MISSIONS.  237 

of  the  gospel,  we  are  not  engaged  in  a  novel  experiment;  nor 
is  the  gospel  itself  a  system  of  truth  hitherto  untried.  It 
has  a  long  and  an  eventful  history.  In  order  to  estimate  its 
prospects  for  the  future,  then,  let  us  question  that  history  con- 
cerning the  past ;  for  if  it  shall  appear  that  Christianity,  re- 
garded merely  as  one  form  of  religion  among  many,  has  van- 
quished every  foe  which  it  has  encountered,  passed  through 
every  ordeal  to  which  it  is  ever  likely  to  be  subjected,  and  is 
still  vigorous  and  aggressive,  even  the  skeptic  must  admit 
that,  whether  its  success  be  owing  to  supernatural  aid,  to  in- 
trinsic excellence,  or  to  both,  its  friends  have  strong  encour- 
ment  to  hope  for  its  continued  progress. 

Now,  the  first  question  naturally  arising  in  the  mind  of  an 
inquirer  on  this  subject  would  be  —  "  Has  the  religion  of  the 
Bible  triumphed  already  1 "  Open  the  first  pages  of  its  history, 
we  reply,  and  you  will  find  that  its  early  history  is  a  history 
of  its  triumphs.  It  matters  not  whether  that  history  be  writ- 
ten by  an  Origen  or  a  Pliny,  a  Eusebius  or  a  Tacitus,  a 
Tertullian  or  a  Gibbon  —  friends  and  foes  alike  bear  testi- 
mony to  the  fact  that  during  its  early  ages  the  gospel  not 
merely  maintained  its  ground,  but  extended  its  conquests  on 
every  hand  with  a  rapidity  and  a  vigor  which  left  numbers  of 
its  enemies  no  alternative  but  to  ascribe  it  to  the  finger  of 
God.  "  Perhaps,  however,  the  advent  of  Christianity  took 
place  at  a  time  when  the  prevailing  systems  of  religion  were 
of  a  kind  less  hostile  to  innovation  than  those  which  exist  at 
present ;  or  perhaps  the  character  of  the  gospel  had  a  tend- 
ency to  coalesce  with  them,  and  accept  of  their  support." 
So  far  from  this,  the  gospel  was  utterly  unlike  every  sys- 
tem which  the  mind  of  man  had  imagined  ;  nor  would  it 
accept  the  remotest  alliance  with  any,  but  proclaimed  a  war 
of  extermination  against  them  all ;  and  yet  it  triumphed.  It 
found  every  human  heart  a  temple  filled  with  the  worship  of 
some  idol  god,  and  the  world  a  Pantheon,  crowded  with  the 
long-accumulated  images  and  services  of  an  ancient  idolatry  ; 
and  yet  it  triumphed.  Never,  perhaps,  had  the  prevailing 
systems  presented  a  more  threatening  front  to  the  pretensions 
of  any  new  and  rival  religion  than  at  that  period ;  this  the 
ages  of  persecution  which  followed  sufficiently  testified  ;  but 
not  only  did  the  gospel  denounce  them,  —  it  went  even  deeper, 
and  proclaimed  eternal  war  against  the  very  propensities  and 
principles  of  human  nature  which  had  given  them  birth  ;  and 
yet  it  triumphed.     "  But  the  gospel  may  have  owed  its  early 


238  ENCOURAGEMENTS   TO   PROSECUTE 

successes  to  an  instrumentality  of  a  kind  so  efficient  as  it 
may  never  possess  again."  As  far  as  that  agency  was  mirac- 
ulous, it  was  doubtless  demonstrative  of  the  truth  of  the 
gospel ;  but  the  means  employed  for  its  diffusion  were  simply 
"  the  foolishness  of  preaching."  No  purple  clothed  it,  no 
orators  pleaded  its  cause,  no  secret  bribes  procured  it  access 
to  the  ear  of  the  great,  no  army  hewed  for  it  a  path ;  and  yet 
it  triumphed.  The  apparent  impotence  and  meanness  of  its 
agents  formed  one  of  the  great  objections  of  the  day  against 
the  divinity  of  its  origin,  and  the  possibility  of  its  success  ; 
and  yet  it  triumphed.  And  one  of  the  reasons  why  such  an 
instrumentality  was  employed  doubtless  was,  that  the  church 
might  never,  on  this  ground,  have  cause  to  despond  ;  that  it 
might  feel  that  as  long  as  it  can  furnish  but  "  twelve  fisher- 
men," it  possesses  an  instrumentality  equal,  under  God,  to 
repeat  the  triumphs  of  its  primitive  days. 

"  But  it  may  be  that  Christianity  triumphed  only  in  one 
direction,  and  vanquished  only  a  single  kind  of  opposition." 
It  evaded  no  difficulty,  turned  aside  from  no  foe.  It  went 
in  search  of  "  Satan's  seat."  Not  a  people  here  and  there 
merely,  but  many  nations,  and  these  in  every  stage  of  civil- 
ization, and  exhibiting  almost  every  variety  of  political  and 
moral  condition,  abandoned  their  idolatries,  and  embraced  the 
Christian  name. 

"  But  many  a  system  which  has  prospered  in  its  early  days, 
and  which  has  even  gained  energy  by  conflict,  has  no  sooner 
been  seated  in  the  place  of  ease  and  power,  than  it  has  fallen 
before  the  first  vigorous  assault  which  it  was  called  to  sustain. 
One  would  like  to  see,  therefore,  whether  or  not  Christendom 
could  survive  such  an  encounter."  The  irruption  of  the 
Gothic  and  Slavic  nations  into  the  Roman  empire  furnished 
the  means  of  the  experiment ;  and  what  was  the  effect  ? 
The  conversion  of  these  northern  barbarians  had  been  before 
but  imperfectly  attempted ;  yet  now,  when  they  came  to  van- 
quish the  civilized  world,  the  second  increase  of  Christianity 
took  place  by  their  nominal  adoption  of  the  faith.  And  thus 
the  very  event  which  had  threatened  Christendom  with  irrep- 
arable ruin  proved  the  second  era  of  its  enlargement. 

"  In  this  instance,  however,  the  encounter  of  Christianity 
was  only  with  barbarian  force.  What  if  the  antagonist  had 
been  armed  with  knowledge,  with  elastic  mind,  and  intellect- 
ual might  ?  "  The  supposition  has  been  realized  ;  realized 
under  circumstances  the  most  unfavorable  for  Christianity ; 


THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  239 

and  yet  it  triumphed.  At  the  time  when  ancient  literature 
arose  from  the  sleep  of  ages  like  a  giant  refreshed  ;  when  the 
newly-created  press  gave  wings  to  thought ;  when  philosophy 
rose  like  a  sun  on  the  old  world,  and  science  discovered  a 
new  world  ;  and  when  mind,  in  consequence,  received  an  im- 
pulse which  threatened  with  extinction  whatever  was  not  true 
and  good,  Christianity  was  found  overlaid  and  oppressed  with 
centuries  of  corruption.  But  with  an  energy  of  self-renovat- 
ing power  which  could  have  only  come  from  God,  it  arose 
with  the  occasion,  and,  so  far  from  avoiding,  actually  called 
to  its  side,  and  employed  in  its  service,  all  those  elements  of 
greatness  which  had  just  come  into  existence.  Ancient 
literature  held  its  rekindled  torch  to  the  translation  of  the 
Bible ;  the  press  propagated  it  in  all  directions ;  an  inductive 
philosophy  has  ever  since  been  illustrating  its  truths,  and  aug- 
menting its  evidence ;  and  from  parts  of  that  new  world 
which  Christianity  was  the  first  to  colonize,  it  is  now  medi- 
tating the  conversion  of  mankind. 

"  Still  the  test  might  have  been  more  severe.  Christianity 
might  have  remained  unreformed,  or  the  slumber  of  security 
might  have  come  over  it  after  the  reformation,  while  its  en- 
emies were  secretly  forging  their  weapons,  and  gradually  pre- 
paring for  its  sudden  destruction ;  what  would  have  been  the 
issue  of  such  an  onset?"  The  question  is  answered;  the 
onset  was  made,  and  yet  the  cause  of  the  gospel  triumphed. 
The  Neological  Pantheism  of  Spinoza;  the  Casuistic  Doubts 
of  Bayle  ;  the  Phenomenonism  of  Hume ;  Kant  and  Tran- 
scendental Skepticism  ;  the  Ridicule  of  Voltaire  ;  the  Senti- 
mental Deism  of  Rousseau  ;  the  Historical  Infidelity  of  Gib- 
bon ;  all  the  agents  and  hosts  of  evil  fell  on  the  cause  of  Truth 
in  quick  succession,  and  in  the  hour  of  its  faintness,  and  felt 
secure  of  its  utter  extinction.  Political  convulsions,  too,  at 
the  same  time,  seemed  to  conspire  and  make  way  for  the  most 
fearful  changes.  The  revolutionized  aspect  of  the  social  sys- 
tem, at  this  moment,  testifies  to  the  violence  of  that  moral 
deluge  by  which  mountains  were  brought  down,  and  valleys 
raised,  and  the  organic  structure  of  Christendom  changed. 
Yet  not  only  did  Christianity  survive  the  conflict, — the  hour 
of  its  crisis  was  the  season  of  its  greatest  triumph.  While 
maintaining  its  ground  with  apparent  difficulty  at  home,  it 
was  actually  acquiring  new  territories  abroad.  At  the  mo- 
ment when  its  enemies  supposed  that  its  doom  was  sealed,  it 
was  seen  as  a  mighty  angel  flying  through  the  midst  of  heav- 


240  ENCOURAGEMENTS    TO    PROSECUTE 

en,  and  preaching  the  everlasting  gospel  to  all  nations.  The 
day  of  its  fiercest  trial  is  the  day  from  which  it  dates  its 
modern  missionary  enterprise. 

Now,  are  we  not  encouraged  from  this  review  of  the  past  to 
augur  hopefully  of  the  future  ?  Shall  not  the  weapon  which 
has  never  failed  be  regarded  by  us  with  greater  confidence 
than  one  which  has  never  been  tried  ?  Is  it  too  much  to 
expect  that  the  gospel  which  has  triumphed  so  long  and  so 
gloriously  will  continue  to  triumph  still  ?  We  pass  to  the 
field  of  missionary  effort  over  the  wrecks  of  former  systems 
of  idolatry,  and  through  scenes  of  early  gospel  triumph,  and 
shall  we  not  feel  the  inspiration  of  the  scene?  Where  now 
is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians?  Where  now  are  Jupiter  and  the 
gods  of  Greece  ?  and  where  the  whole  Pantheon  of  Rome? 
The  first  Christians  testified  against  them,  and  they  vanished. 
Missionaries  of  Christ  came  to  Britain  ;  and  where  now  are 
Woden  and  all  the  Saxon  gods  ?  Hessus,  and  all  the  more 
ancient  and  sanguinary  rites  of  the  Druids  ?  The  idols  which 
we  now  assail  in  other  lands  have  been  long  since  routed,  and 
the  sword  we  wield  routed  them.  The  gods  of  India  are  the 
same,  under  different  names,  which  Italy  and  Greece  adored  ; 
the  sword  of  the  Lord  chased  them  from  the  west,  and  shall 
it  do  less  in  the  east  ?  Remembering  "  the  years  of  the  right 
hand  of  the  Most  High,"  let  us  "  thank  God  and  take 
courage.' 


SECTION   II 


MISSIONARY    ENCOURAGEMENT    ARISING    FROM    THE    POLITICAL 
ASPECT    OF    THE    WORLD. 

A  second  ground  of  missionary  encouragement,  and  one 
deserving  peculiar  attention,  may  be  denominated  political, 
for  it  respects  the  external  relations  of  Christendom,  and 
especially  of  reformed  Christendom,  to  the  rest  of  the  world. 
If  the  social  condition  of  states,  and  their  aspects  towards 
each  other,  are  to  possess  any  weight  in  our  estimate  of  the 
missionary  cause,  we  may  venture  to  affirm  that  it  would 
be  difficult  to. conceive  of  their  occupying  any  position,  rela- 
tive to  that  cause,  more  encouraging  than  that  which  they 
now  present. 


THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  241 

1.  For  first,  all  the  rest  of  the  globe  appears  to  be  placed, 
by  Providence,  at  the  disposal  of  Christendom.  This  will 
appear  from  a  slight  degree  of  attention  to  the  following  con- 
siderations :  That  which  classifies  and  distributes  the  popu- 
lation of  the  earth  is,  not  geographical  lines,  but  religion. 
This  is  the  centre  around  which  humanity  collects,  and  by 
which  it  is  civilized  and  formed  into  masses ;  and  hence  the 
savage  tribes,  having  nothing  deserving  the  name  of  religion, 
know  nothing  of  civilization,  or  of  union  among  themselves. 
Now,  if  we  look  down  upon  the  human  race  from  a  point  of 
view  sufficiently  high,  we  shall  find  them  divisible  into  three 
great  families  —  the  Mahometan,  the  Brahminical,  and  the 
Christian,  including  the  Jewish.  Within  the  bosom  of  these 
families  there  are  numerous  points  of  difference.  The  nations 
which  compose  them  are  in  various  stages  of  progress ;  but 
still  they  are  all  marshalled  and  moving  under  one  or  other 
of  these  three  banners.* 

The  Mahometan  division  occupies  South-Western  Asia, 
and  the  north  and  east  of  Africa.  The  Brahminic  section, 
the  most  populous  of  the  three,  possesses  Eastern  Asia,  and 
the  neighboring  islands  on  the  east  and  south,  including 
Japan,  Chinese  Tartary,  China,  and  the  Indies.  The  Chris- 
tian portion  comprehends  Europe  and  America,  penetrates 
Asia  by  the  north  and  the  south,  Africa  south  of  the  tropics, 
and  has  colonies  every  where. 

The  Moslem  division  embraces  a  population  of  about  a 
hundred  and  twenty  millions;  Brahminism,  in  its  different 
sects,  about  four  hundred  millions ;  and  Christendom  about 
two  hundred  millions.  The  remainder  of  the  human  race, 
amounting  to  nearly  a  hundred  millions,  are  savage.  These 
are  so  scattered  and  surrounded,  that,  as  a  portion  of  hu- 
manity, they  exert  no  influence  on  the  three  great  divisions, 
but  are  probably  destined  to  be  assimilated  and  absorbed 
by  them. 

The  great  powers,  then,  which  divide  the  civilized  world 
between  them,  are  Mahometanism,  Brahminism,  and  Chris- 
tianity.    Now,  of  these,   it  is   evident   from  facts    that   the 


*  For  many  of  the  facts  stated  in  this  part  of  the  present  section, 
the  author  is  indebted  to  a  sketch  of  the  "  Present  State  of  Human- 
ity," by  Mr.  Jouffroy,  Professor  in  the  Faculty  of  Literature,  Paris; 
in  which,  with  much  that  is  unsound  in  theory,  there  is  blended  much 
that  is  useful  in  information. 

21 


242  ENCOURAGEMENTS   TO   PROSECUTE 

Christian  division  is  the  only  one  which  possesses  an  expan- 
sive power. 

Christianity  alone  entertains  the  idea  of  gaining  savage 
tribes  to  civilization.  Brahminism  has  few  or  no  savages 
to  civilize ;  for  while  on  one  side  its  dominion  extends  to  the 
eastern  borders  of  Asia,  on  the  other  it  approaches  Mahom- 
etanism  and  Christianity,  and  consequently  touches  the  other 
systems  of  civilization.  Mahometanism  also,  on  the  east 
towards  Asia,  and  on  the  north  and  west  towards  Europe, 
is  arrested  by  Christian  and  Brahminic  civilization.  It  comes 
in  contact  with  savages  only  at  the  south  towards  the  centre 
of  Africa ;  and  these  there  is  reason  to  conclude  that  it 
entirely  disregards.  But  while  Mahometanism  and  Brahmin- 
ism take  no  measures  by  which  they  may  share  in  the  mass 
of  men  who  are  yet  to  be  civilized,  if  we  turn  our  eyes  to 
Christianity  we  perceive  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  bar- 
barians of  Africa  —  and  even  these  it  is  on  the  point  of  dis- 
puting with  Mahometanism  —  it  holds  in  its  hand  all  the 
savages  of  the  rest  of  the  world. 

For,  in  the  next  place,  Christendom  is  the  only  one  of  the 
three  divisions  which  colonizes.  Mahometanism,  like  Brah- 
minism, keeps  at  home.  The  time  when  it  subdued  nations 
with  the  sword  is  past.  While  there  is  hardly  an  island  of 
any  considerable  magnitude  where  one  part  or  other  of  Chris- 
tendom has  not  taken  a  station. 

It  is  the  only  one  of  the  three  divisions  capable  of  increase 
from  population.  The  countries  possessed  by  the  other  two 
have  as  many  inhabitants  already  as  comport  with  their  re- 
spective systems  of  civilization.  But  this  is  so  far  from 
being  the  case  with  Christendom,  that  the  population  of 
modern  Russia,  for  instance,  doubles  itself  in  about  fifty 
years,  and  that  of  America  in  about  half  that  period.  It 
has  before  it,  therefore,  a  vast  prospect  of  increase,  both  at 
the  expense  of  the  savage  portion  of  the  human  race,  and 
by  virtue  of  its  own  productive  power  —  a  prospect  denied  to 
the  other  two. 

Christendom  alone  evinces  a  zeal  for  improvement.  Among 
the  Brahminic  nations  science  is  stationary ;  by  the  Mahom- 
etan it  is  despised ;  while  among  us  it  is  honored  and  culti- 
vated, and  is  rapidly  arming  us  with  an  ever-increasing  power 
over  them  bo.th. 

Besides  which,  it  is  the  only  power  which  advances  at  the 
expense  of  the  others.     Not  only  does  its  superiority  secure 


THE    MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  '243 

it  from  the  attacks  of  the  other  two,  —  it  places  them  both,  in  a 
sense,  at  our  disposal.  Accordingly,  neither  Brahminism 
nor  M'lhometanism  penetrates,  or  attempts  to  penetrate,  into 
Christendom.  They  appear  smitten  with  death.  They  make 
no  conquests  even  on  each  other,  or  among  barbarians. 
They  seem  to  exist  merely  because  time  is  requisite  for  a 
dead  system,  as  for  a  dead  tree,  to  fall  to  pieces.  Christen- 
dom, on  the  contrary,  exhibits  all  the  signs  of  a  fresh  and 
vigorous  life.  Every  where  it  advances  with  ardor  and  de- 
liberate purpose  into  the  domains  of  Brahma  and  Mahomet ; 
and  almost  the  only  resistance  which  it  meets  with  is  that  of 
inertness  and  decay.  Thus,  while  the  aspect  which  the 
former  two  present  is  that  of  the  Dead  Sea,  the  latter,  like 
the  Jordan,  is  seen  rushing  into  it,  and  we  cannot  forget  that 
the  promise  is,  "  The  waters  shall  be  healed." 

2.  But  if,  on  taking  a  survey  of  the  civilized  world,  we 
are  struck  with  the  fact  that,  of  the  three  systems  into  which 
it  is  divided,  Christendom  alone  is  aggressive,  still  more  are 
we  impressed  at  finding  that,  of  all  the  nations  of  Christen- 
dom, those  which  are  especially  distinguished  by  Providence 
with  political  influence  over  the  lands  of  Brahma  and  Ma- 
homet are  the  reformed  and  antipapal  powers.  Italy  with 
its  enfeebling  despotism,  Spain  with  its  internal  factions  and 
suicidal  passions,  and  even  France  with  its  redundant  peas- 
antry, exhibit  no  symptoms  of  diffusing  themselves  over  the 
world.  England,  English  America,  and  Russia,  are  the  only 
countries  now  standing  in  an  interesting  relation  to  the 
future.  The  former  two  may  be  regarded  as  one.  Con- 
cerning its  probable  destiny,  let  us  hear  an  opinion,  which, 
considering  the  quarter  whence  it  comes,  is  entitled  to  deep 
attention.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  "  the  British  race,"  says 
M.  Tocqueville,*  "  has  acquired  an  amazing  preponderance 
over  all  the  other  European  races  in  the  New  World  ;  and 
that  it  is  very  superior  to  them  in  civilization,  in  industry, 
and  in  power.  .  .  .  The  geographical  position  of  the  British 
race  in  the  New  World  is  peculiarly  favorable  to  its  rapid 
increase.  .  .  .  It  has  been  calculated  that  the  whites  advance 
every  year  a  mean  distance  of  seventeen  miles  along  the 
whole  of  this  vast  boundary,  [about  fifteen  hundred  miles.] 
Obstacles,  such  as  an  unproductive  district,  a  lake,  or  an 
Indian  nation,  unexpectedly  encountered,  are  sometimes  met 

*  Democracy  in  America.     Paris  and  London,  1835.* 


244       ENCOURAGE3IENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

with.  The  advancing  column  then  halts  for  a  while ;  its  two 
extremities  fall  back  upon  themselves ;  and,  as  soon  as  they 
are  reunited,  they  proceed  onwards.  This  gradual  and  con- 
tinued progress  of  the  European  (British)  race  towards  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  has  the  solemnity  of  a  providential  event ; 
it  is  like  a  deluge  of  men  rising  unabatedly,  and  daily  driven 
onwards  by  the  hand  of  God.  .  .  .  Thus,  in  the  midst  of  the 
uncertain  future,  one  event  at  least  is  sure.  At  a  period 
which  may  be  said  to  be  near,  (for  we  are  speaking  of  the 
life  of  a  nation,)  the  Anglo-Americans  will  alone  cover  the 
immense  space  contained  between  the  Polar  regions  and  the 
Tropics,  extending  from  the  coast  of  the  Atlantic  to  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  —  equal  to  three  quarters  of 
Europe  in  extent ;  with  a  population  of  a  hundred  and  fifty 
millions  of  men.  .  .  .  This  is  a  fact  new  to  the  world,  a  fact 
fraught  with  such  portentous  consequences  as  to  baffle  the 
efforts  even  of  the  imagination." 

But  it  is  not  merely  one  quarter  of  the  world  of  which  the 
British  race  have  taken  possession.  Southern  Africa  has  re- 
ceived her  language  and  her  laws.  In  Australia  —  a  new 
world,  larger  than  Europe,  and  comparatively  empty  of  men  — 
colonization  is  spreading  with  a  rapidity  never  before  wit- 
nessed. And  still  about  two  hundred  thousand  emigrants 
annually  leave  the  shores  of  Britain  to  take  possession  of  the 
waste  places  of  the  earth,  as  if  they  were  theirs  by  a  divine 
gift,  or  by  the  right  of  inheritance. 

Our  empire  and  political  influence  in  the  East,  too,  are  of 
vast  and  still  increasing  extent.  We  speak  not  now  of  the  un- 
expected manner  in  which  England  has  been  allowed  to  become 
the  mistress  of  India,  or  of  the  solemn  responsibility  which 
the  mighty  transfer  has  imposed  on  us.  These  are  subjects 
for  consideration  in  a  subsequent  chapter.  We  advert  to  the 
striking  fact,  that  Providence  has  permitted  us  to  acquire 
political  influence  over  about  a  hundred  millions  of  immortal 
beings  in  India,  as  a  very  cheering  view  for  those  who  medi- 
tate their  conversion  to  God.  And  this  fact  becomes  still 
more  encouraging  and  significant  of  the  divine  designs,  when 
we  remember  that  the  country  has  already  been  in  the  hands 
of  the  Portuguese,  who,  by  their  cruelty,  opposed  its  religious 
improvement,  and  of  the  Dutch,  who  neglected  it,  and  is  now 
intrusted  to  the  only  people  who  possess  the  means,  humanly 
speaking,  of  benefiting  it. 

No\^  what  reflecting  Christian  but  must  perceive,  in  this 


THE   xMISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE.  245 

view  of  the  state  of  the  world,  strong  encouragement  to  mis- 
sionary enterprise?  Let  him  not  fear  that  we  shall  overrate 
its  importance ;  or  be  tempted  by  it  to  withdraw  our  supreme 
confidence  from  Him  "  who  is  our  hope."  We  are  free  to 
admit  that  our  extensive  influence  has  been  acquired  by  no 
design  or  forethought  on  our  part,  but,  in  the  providential 
course  of  events,  from  the  expansiveness  of  our  energies  and 
the  inherent  advantages  of  that  civilization  for  which  we  are 
indebted  to  our  religion.  Nor  can  we  forget  that  the  occa- 
sion which  led  to  the  colonization  of  America  by  the  Puri- 
tans, the  bribery  and  bloodshed  by  which  we  have  obtained 
large  portions  of  India,  and  the  countenance  still  afforded  to 
its  hateful  idolatry,  are  all  calculated  to  cast  a  stain  upon  our 
glory,  and  may  well  induce  us  to  rejoice  with  trembling. 
Still,  it  is  not  the  less  our  duty,  rather  it  is  calculated  to  aug- 
ment our  gratitude,  to  remark  that,  in  defiance  of  all  our  own 
deserts,  and  of  all  human  calculation,  our  political  position 
abounds  with  encouragement  to  missionary  exertion. 

Suppose,  for  instance,  that  Christendom  and  Mahometan- 
ism  were  to  exchange  their  relative  positions ;  that  the  former 
were  declining  and  superannuated,  existing  on  the  mere  suf- 
ferance of  the  latter,  and  expecting  to  be  finally  driven  from 
Europe ;  while  the  standard  of  the  prophet  was  planted  in 
the  heart  of  the  continent,  the  cimeter  flashing  around  the 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  one  province  and  island 
after  another  resounding  for  the  first  time  with  the  cry  of  the 
muezzin,  —  would  the  change  cast  no  shade  over  our  mis- 
sionary prospects?  Whatever  our  duty  might  be,  would  our 
hopes  remain  undiminished  ?  Would  not  a  revolution,  which 
should  cast  Mahometanism  to  the  earth,  and  place  Christen- 
dom in  its  present  attitude  of  security  and  superiority  above 
it,  bring  back  a  great  accession  of  encouragement  to  the 
missionary  cause,  and  be  regarded  by  us  as  a  loud  call  to  in- 
creased activity  ? 

Suppose,  again,  that  those  on  whom  the  modern  missionary 
spirit  has  descended,  inhabited  a  country  situated  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  European  continent,  destitute  of  a  navy,  and  stran- 
gers to  commerce,  —  would  the  want  of  all  our  present  mari- 
time facilities  be  unfelt  and  undeplored  ?  Is  it  nothing  that 
this  spirit  has  been  excited  among  those  whose  subject  terri- 
tory is  thrice  as  large  as  that  of  ancient  Rome,  whose 
colonies  people  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  and  whose  ships 
crowd  every  port  of  every  shore  ?  This  is  not  accident.  It 
21* 


246  ENCOURAGEMENTS   TO   PROSECUTE 

is  the  finger  of  God  pointing  out  our   duty  to  the  world,  and 
the  voice  of  God  cheering  us  on  to  perform  it. 

Is  it  nothing,  again,  that  India  "  is  open  "  ?  Only  a  little 
more  than  a  century  ago,  it  was  as  likely,  to  all  appearance, 
that  the  Mogul  empire  would  have  passed  into  the  hands  of 
France,  of  Portugal,  of  Denmark,  of  Holland,  or  even  of 
Russia,  as  of  England.  But,  under  the  jealous  despotism 
of  Russia,  or  the  ascendency  of  a  Romish  power,  India 
would  have  been  closed  against  the  missionary.  And  is  it 
nothing,  then,  that  it  has  been  given  to  the  only  Protestant 
power  capable  of  efficiently  discharging  the  high  mission  of 
genuine  Christianity  throughout  the  East?  Let  the  Chris- 
tian reader,  who  beholds  in  it  a  special  providence,  derive 
from  it  also  special  encouragement  to  increased  missionary 
effort. 


SECTION  III 


MISSIONARY      ENCOURAGEMENT      ARISING      FROM     THE      MORAL 
ASPECT    OF    THE    WORLD. 

1.  Another  source  of  encouragement  to  missionary  exer- 
tion arises  from  the  moral  aspect  of  the  various  parts  of  the 
world.  And  here,  if  we  begin  our  examination  with  the 
least  hopeful  of  those  parts  —  the  Mahometan,  and  select  the 
least  auspicious  sections  even  of  these  —  Persia  and  Turkey, 
we  shall  find  that  never  did  the  Moslem  ranks  present  so 
broken  a  front,  and  invite  aggression  with  so  great  a  pros- 
pect of  success  as  at  present.  The  political  state  of  these 
countries  is  a  correct  representation  of  their  moral  condi- 
tion. Persia,  by  its  heretical  adherence  to  Ali,  divides  the 
Mussulman  power,  and  becomes  a  source  of  solicitude  and 
weakness  to  Turkey.  As  Mahomet  appealed  to  the  sword 
in  proof  of  the  divinity  of  his  mission,  "  every  battle  lost  is 
an  argument  lost ;  "  so  that  the  evidence  of  his  creed  is 
nearly  at  its  minimum.  Science  and  philosophy  are  against 
it;  for  of  all  the  systems  of  false  religion,  that  of  the  impostor 
is  the  least  true  to  nature ;  so  that  almost  every  fresh  scien- 
tific discovery  is  the  preparation  of  a  new  weapon  with  which 
to  assail  it,  and  every  Mahometan  that  begins  to  reason,  is  a 
votary  lost.     The  Ottomans  themselves  are  possessed  with  a 


THE    MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  247 

melancholy  foreboding  of  their  doom ;  and  the  events  of 
every  year  only  serve  to  deepen  the  gloom  of  their  prospects. 
Their  moral  aspect  now,  therefore,  is  that  of  a  foe  compara- 
tively disarmed  and  disheartened  ;  and  though  he  who  should 
denounce  the  Caaba,  or  preach  the  Cross,  in  the  streets  of 
Constantinople,  would  probably  find  the  cadi  and  bigotry  as 
active  as  ever,  yet  the  history  of  Henry  Martyn  shows  us  how 
patiently  the  Islamite  will  attend  to  the  claims  of  Christianity, 
when  judiciously  presented,  and  how  beneficial  an  influence 
may  be  exercised  by  religious  conversation  alone. 

2.  There  was  a  time  when  the  Polytheism  of  India  was 
deemed  unchangeable.  It  is  evident,  however,  not  only  that 
multitudes  of  Hindoos  adopted,  from  whatever  motives,  the 
religion  of  their  Mahometan  conquerors,  but  that,  without 
any  foreign  inducement,  they  have  voluntarily  passed  through 
the  usual  gradations  of  error,  and  exhibited  the  ordinary 
love  of  change.  From  the  worship  of  the  elements  they 
have  advanced  to  Brahminical  Polytheism ;  from  Polytheism 
to  the  Pantheism  of  the  Budhists ;  and  from  Budhism  have 
returned  to  Brahminism  again.  So  that  all  our  fears  of  the 
immobility  of  the  Hindoo  character  have  been  long  since 
proved  to  be  unfounded.  It  should  be  remembered  also,  that 
the  religion  prevalent  through  all  the  regions  of  the  East  is 
substantially  the  same.  For  the  Brahminism  of  Hindostan 
is  only  a  more  popular  form  of  the  strict  Pantheism  which 
prevails  to  the  north  and  the  east,  and  which  is  satisfied  with 
the  one  incarnation  of  Budh.  So  that  in  dissolving  the  fatal 
charm  of  Hindooism,  we  should  not  be  benefiting  a  single 
nation,  merely,  but  breaking  the  spell  by  which  nearly  half 
the  race  are  morally  enslaved. 

Remarkable  it  is,  too,  that  there  should  be  one  country  of 
the  East  which  has  given  religion,  science,  and  civilization 
to  all  the  rest ;  for  from  India  have  proceeded  the  mission- 
aries of  the  Lamas,  the  Bonzes,  and  of  Budh,  the  last  of  the 
Indian  incarnations  —  a  fact  which  awakens  the  hope  that 
when  the  same  land  embraces  Christianity,  it  will  be  equally 
ready  to  furnish  missionaries  of  the  cross  for  the  very  extrem- 
ities of  Asia.  Still  more  remarkable  is  it,  that  this  one  coun- 
try, to  which  all  the  surrounding  regions  look  as  the  fountain 
of  holiness  and  wisdom,  should  be  placed  by  Providence  at 
our  disposal.  To  heighten  our  encouragement,  the  ancient 
and  antiquated  religion  of  this  one  country  has  fallen  into 
discredit,  and  is  rapidly  on  the  decline.     Where  one  new 


248       ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

temple  is  built,  sixty  are  allowed  to  go  to  ruin.  Many  of  the 
seminaries  where  the  shastres  are  studied,  are  closed  for  want 
of  pupils.  Nodea  and  Santapore,  the  two  most  celebrated 
of  these  colleges,  and  which  formerly  had  from  three  to  four 
thousand  students,  have  not  at  present  more  than  three  or 
four  hundred.  The  Brahmins  themselves  have  lest  so  much 
of  their  influence  with  the  people,  that  their  curses  are  but 
little  dreaded,  or  their  blessings  desired.  Hundreds  of  them 
have  renounced  the  priesthood,  as  no  longer  able  to  afford 
them  the  means  of  living.  The  links  of  caste  are  fractured, 
and  the  very  weight  of  the  chain  is  threatening  a  powerful 
reaction  against  it. 

Who  does  not  behold  in  all  this  a  grand  work  of  providen- 
tial preparation  for  the  missionary  enterprise  in  India?  And, 
as  if  nothing  should  be  wanting  to  complete  our  encourage- 
ment, a  large  proportion  of  the  population  are  already  able  to 
read  and  write ;  a  very  general  desire  is  felt  to  acquire  the 
arts  and  sciences  of  Europe ;  and  the  knowledge  of  these 
would  necessitate  and  hasten  the  fall  of  Hindooism.  A  strong 
presentiment  that  its  doom  is  sealed  is  daily  extending ;  and 
such  is  the  comparative  indifference  for  its  fate,  that,  in  nu- 
merous instances,  the  Christian  missionary  denounces  idolatry 
in  the  very  temple  of  the  god. 

3.  China  —  that  world  within  itself — is  doubtless  sur- 
rounded with  obstacles  to  conversion.  But  the  existence  of 
these  constitute  the  very  reason,  and  the  only  ground  of 
necessity,  why  we  should  attempt  it.  She  is  guarded  against 
the  truth  by  more  than  one  wall.  Her  material  wall,  as  it 
has  been  justly  remarked,  is  crumbling  dust  compared  with 
her  political ;  her  political  wall  is  a  mere  illusion  compared 
with  her  moral  barriers  —  for  civilization  in  China  can  hardly 
be  called  religious;  her  moral  wall  of  prejudice  and  pride  is 
only  that  by  which  sin  intrenches  itself  in  every  country  and 
every  heart.  The  wall  which  overtops  the  whole,  and  which 
we  shall  find  it  most  difficult  to  surmount,  is  that  which  our 
own  unbelief  and  ignorance  have  erected.  Every  other  has 
been  breached  and  entered.  So  far  is  China  to  be  from  being 
regarded  as  impregnable,  that  Judaism  entered  it  probably 
prior  to  the  Christian  era,  Budhism  in  the  first  century, 
Nestorianism  in  the  seventh  century,  Mahometanism  in  the 
eighth  century,  and  Romanism  in  the  thirteenth  century. 
Such  was  the  success  of  Popery  in  China,  especially  in  the 
hands  of  M.  Ricci  and  Father  Schaal,  that  many  of  the  man- 


THE    MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  249 

darins  embraced  its  doctrines ;  one  province  alone  contained 
ninety  churches  and  forty-five  oratories ;  a  splendid  church 
was  built  within  the  palace ;  the  mother,  wife,  and  son  of 
the  emperor,  Yung-leih,  professed  Christianity ;  and  nothing 
apparently  prevented  China  from  being  added  to  the  Papal 
see  but  the  disputes  which  broke  out  between  the  Jesuits  and 
the  Dominicans. 

But  besides  the  encouragement  derivable  from  the  fact 
that  China  has  already  been  open  to  missionary  aggression, 
it  should  be  gratefully  remembered  also  that  obstacles  exist- 
ing elsewhere  are  absent  here ;  and  that  many  of  those  con- 
siderations which  once  operated  as  fears,  have  gradually 
vanished,  or  changed  into  hopes.  The  climate,  for  instance, 
so  far  from  being  relaxing  or  pestilential,  is  fully  as  salubrious 
as  that  of  England,  and  much  less  changeable.  The  lan- 
guage, once  deemed  unattainable,  has  been  mastered,  and 
"  made  easy;  "  and  what  an  inducement  should  it  furnish  to 
the  Christian  student,  that  when  he  has  mastered  the  Chinese 
symbols,  he  will  be  able  to  make  himself  intelligible  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Ganges  to  the  Amoor,  and  to  indite  a  book  — 
for  nearly  all  can  read  —  for  more  than  one  third  of  the  hu- 
man race.  The  despotic  unity  of  its  government,  by  which 
the  will  of  one  man  moves  and  rules  the  entire  mass,  may 
itself  be  made  the  means,  under  God,  of  its  more  easy  and 
effectual  reconstruction  on  Christian  principles.  At  all 
events,  the  unity  of  character  resulting  from  this  unvarying 
uniformity  of  literature  and  government,  is  attended  with  this 
advantage  to  the  missionary,  that,  to  comprehend  the  senti- 
ments and  reply  to  the  objections  of  a  single  mind,  is  to  mas- 
ter the  views  and  objections  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  mil- 
lions of  human  beings.  In  this  respect,  too,  the  magnitude 
of  the  population,  once  regarded  as  appalling,  presents  the 
missionary  with  an  advantage  not  to  be  met  with  elsewhere. 
But  that  which  calls  for  special  observation  is,  both  that  the 
Chinese  mode  of  writing  is  current  and  legible  far  beyond 
the  limits  of  China,  throughout  Cochin-China,  Corea,  and 
Japan,  and  that  the  population  of  China  itself  is  bursting 
forth  on  every  side,  placing  itself  in  voluntary  contact  with 
Christians,  and  seeking  the  shelter  of  European  governments. 
Millions  are  already  to  be  found  in  Burmah  and  Siam,  in 
Pegu,  Assam,  and  the  Malayan  Archipelago.  All  these  are 
accessible  to  missionary  efforts.  What  has  been  accom- 
plished of  late  among  these  by  the  ardent  and  persevering 


250       ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

zeal  of  two  or  three  individuals,  encourages  the  hope  and 
points  out  the  way  of  benefiting  China  at  large.  For  only 
let  suitable  measures  be  taken  to  evangelize  the  emigrant 
Chinese,  and  a  race  of  missionaries  will  be  thus  provided, 
which,  in  despite  of  imperial  edicts,  will  find  their  way  into 
all  parts  of  the  empire,  and  become,  in  the  hands  of  God,  the 
instruments  of  its  renovation. 

4.  The  most  considerable  body  of  barbarians  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  at  present,  living  contiguously  in  the  same  region, 
is  the  forty  millions  of  Central  Africa.  To  the  evangeliza- 
tion, or  even  the  civilization,  of  this  dense  mass  of  barbarism, 
five  obstacles  formerly  presented  themselves,  each  of  which 
was  deemed  insuperable  —  the  judicial  sentence  of  God 
against  them,  their  mental  imbecility,  the  demoralizing  influ- 
ence of  slavery,  the  deadly  nature  of  the  climate,  and  the 
ferocious  character  of  the  native  superstitions.  To  the  first 
of  these  it  is  now  considered  a  sufficient  reply,  that  the  gospel 
repeals  every  national  malediction,  and  addresses  itself  to 
every  creature.  Missionary  culture  has  proved  that,  as  to 
the  second,  the  charge  of  mental  inferiority  must  in  future 
lie  rather  against  those  who  bring  it  than  against  the  African. 
The  third  will  be  gradually  obviated  in  the  universal  abolition 
of  slavery  —  for  the  sentence  of  indignant  humanity  has  gone 
forth  against  it.  While  the  emancipation  of  our  slaves  might 
go  far  to  obviate  the  fourth ;  for  what  agency  so  fitted,  phys- 
ically and  morally,  to  evangelize  the  inhabitants  of  the  torrid 
zone  as  their  converted  brethren  of  the  West  Indies?  And, 
as  to  the  last,  —  the  ferocious  character  of  African  supersti- 
tion,—  it  is  now  well  ascertained -that  while  their  religious 
creed  is  too  meagre  and  undefined  to  possess  a  powerful  hold 
on  their  minds,  their  religious  practices,  consisting  of  Obeah 
and  Fetishism,  form  a  "  reign  of  terror  "  against  which  a  very 
slight  inducement  would  raise  them  in  revolt.  And  hence, 
wherever  the  gospel  has  been  preached  to  them,  "  Ethiopia 
has  stretched  out  her  hands  unto  God." 

5.  The  other  savage  portions  of  the  earth  wear  a  mere 
encouraging  aspect  still.  As  there  is  no  peculiar  obstacle 
to  the  religious  instruction  of  the  aborigines  of  the  Americas 
which  European  injustice  has  not  created,  it  may  be  hoped 
that  the  Christian  sympathy  awakened  in  their  behalf  will  be 
successful  in  removing  it;  while  their  comparative  vicinity 
to  the  American  churches  encourages  the  hope  of  their  more 
speedy  recovery.     Experiment  has  proved  that  the  New  Hoi- 


THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE. 

lander  may  be  reclaimed  and  elevated  to  Christian  humanity ; 
and  that  New  Zealand  may  become  a  province  of  the  Prince 
of  peace.  Nearly  the  whole  of  Eastern  Polynesia  is  converted 
to  the  Christian  faith.  And  still,  as  the  missionary  stretches 
away  towards  the  Fijis,  and  approaches  New  Caledonia,  New 
Britain,  New  Ireland,  and  New  Guinea,  he  finds  the  islands 
waiting  for  the  law  of  the  Lord. 

6.  Christendom  naturally  divides  itself  into  the  Greek, 
Romish,  and  Reformed  Churches :  reserving  the  last  for 
consideration  in  the  next  section,  we  may  remark  of  the  first, 
that,  with  all  its  unvarying  childishness  and  love  of  toys,  it  is 
not  without  the  prospect  of  improvement.  Education  is  en- 
couraged and  promoted  by  the  emperor  of  Russia.  The 
career  of  civilization  on  which  that  vast  country  has  entered 
will  necessarily  bring  her  into  contact  with  superior  moral 
influences,  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  constitution  of  the 
Greek  church  to  prevent  her  deriving  advantage  from  them. 
According  to  a  recent  edict  of  the  emperor,  Russian  Georgia 
is  to  be  "evangelized"  —  signs  of  missionary  activity,  even 
of  the  loivest  kind,  are  signs  of  hope. 

7.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  palmy  days  of  the 
Romish  church  have  passed  never  to  return.  In  the  activity 
which  she  here  and  there  exhibits,  we  see  only  the  restless- 
ness of  petulance,  and  the  hurried  and  uncertain  expedients 
of  fear.  The  reformation  has  left  no  part  of  Popery  what  it 
was  before.  The  press  has  imparted  a  power  to  public  opin- 
ion by  which  the  Inquisition — the  extinguisher  of  opinion  — 
has  itself  been  extinguished.  The  circulation  of  the  Bible 
has  kindled  a  light  from  whose  beams  that  system  of  dark- 
ness will  never  be  able  effectually  to  retire.  The  light  of 
truth  and  the  force  of  opinion  are  both  against  it.  Even  in 
Spain  and  Portugal,  two  of  its  strongholds,  principles  obtain 
with  which,  in  its  present  form,  it  cannot  long  coexist. 

But  let  us  glance  at  European  Christendom  in  its  two 
great  divisions  of  north  and  south,  —  Germany  and  France. 
The  Rationalism  of  Germany  has  been  long  on  the  decline. 
Almost  of  a  sudden,  and  without  any  cause  which  could  be 
historically  traced,  a  general  dissatisfaction  and  disgust  with 
it  seized  the  community.  The  teachers  who  favored  infidel- 
ity saw  themselves  in  the  minority.  Philosophy,  previously 
hostile  to  religion,  declared  itself  the  servant  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith.  Supernaturalism  obtained  ascendency ;  and  the 
still  growing  popularity  of  the  "  Pietists  "  augurs  well  for  the 
diffusion  of  evangelical  religion. 


252       ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

The  Naturalism  of  France,  like  the  Rationalism  of  Ger- 
many, is  on  the  wane.  Voltaire,  Diderot,  and  Cabanis  are 
no  longer  authorities  with  cultivated  minds.  And,  though 
the  great  bulk  of  the  people  are  still  plunged  in  materialism, 
the  philosophy  of  spiritualism  alone  (such  as  it  is)  is  popular 
with  the  educated ;  while,  among  the  most  enlightened  part 
of  the  nation,  a  strong  presentiment  is  said  to  prevail,  of 
some  approaching  religious  change.  A  spirit  of  religious 
inquiry  is  certainly  abroad  in  PVance,  such  as  has  not  been 
known  since  the  time  of  the  Reformation.  And  the  multi- 
plication of  Protestant  Religious  Societies,  the  gradual  in- 
crease of  faithful  pastors  in  the  Reformed  National  Church, 
and  the  eminent  names  of  Neff,  the  Baron  de  Stael,  Gon- 
thier,  with  those  who  are  at  present  living,  exert  an  influence 
which  naturally  awakens  the  hope  that  that  spirit  of  inquiry 
may  lead,  under  God,  to  the  happiest  results. 

8.  Nor  can  we  conclude  these  remarks  on  the  moral  con- 
dition of  the  various  divisions  of  mankind,  without  adverting 
to  the  fact  that  even  the  mind  of  the  Jews  is  beginning  to 
awake.  And  though  the  philosophy  of  Mendelsohn  is  trans- 
ferring them  from  the  silly  reveries  of  their  rabbins  to  the 
anti-supernatural  ism  of  Spinosa,  the  very  circumstance  of 
their  change  shows  that  much  of  their  obstinacy  is  to  be 
ascribed  to  their  ignorance,  and  that  Christian  kindness  and 
instruction  could  never  meet  them  more  seasonably  than  now, 
in  their  passage  from  credulity  to  infidelity.  Reformed  syn- 
agogues have  been  opened  at  Berlin,  Leipsic,  Vienna,  CarJs- 
ruhe,  Breslau,  London,  and  other  places.  The  Karaite  Jews, 
or  Scripturists,  have  an  especial  claim  upon  the  attention  of 
Christians.  And  let  us  remember  that  "  the  partial  blind- 
ness that  has  fallen  upon  Israel  shall  continue  (only)  till  the 
full  complement  of  the  nations  shall  have  been  brought  in, 
and  then  shall  universal  Israel  be  restored."  So  that,  as 
nation  after  nation  opens  its  gates  to  welcome  the  entrance 
of  the  Christian  faith,  the  Jews  cannot  look  on  without  being 
in  some  degree  "  provoked  to  jealousy,"  nor  can  we  fail  to 
recognize  signs  of  their  approaching  recovery. 

Such  are  the  moral  signs  of  the  times.  We  do  not  for  a 
moment  mistake  them  for  signs  of  incipient  conversion.  We 
do  not  even  interpret  the  most  hopeful  indication  among 
them  into  a  token  of  direct  readiness  to  embrace  the  truth. 
The  mind  may  leave  one  class  of  errors  only  to  embrace  a 
worse.  All  that  we  infer  from  the  moral  aspect  of  the  world 
is,  that  if  it  be  a  more  promising  undertaking  to  assail  a 


THE    MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE.  253 

system  of  error,  in  the  season  of  its  age  and  weakness,  than 
in  the  hour  of  its  strength,  that  encouragement  is  now  held 
out,  for  that  season  has  arrived.  If  the  time  for  recasting 
the  metal  is  when  it  has  reached  a  state  of  fusion,  now  is 
the  period  for  employing  the  mould  of  the  gospel,  when  the 
human  mind  is  so  generally  indicative  of  being  in  the  cruci- 
ble, and  of  possessing  unusual  susceptibility  for  new  impres- 
sions. Look  in  what  direction  we  will,  the  horizon  of  hope 
enlarges  and  brightens.  The  fanatical  zeal  of  the  Mahome- 
tan has  burnt  out.  The  priestly  power  of  the  Brahmin  is 
broken,  and  his  demons  wait  in  vain  for  their  prescribed  liba- 
tions of  blood.  The  altar  of  the  Chinese,  empty,  but  stand- 
ing, is  waiting  to  welcome  the  advent  of  an  unknown  God. 
The  South  African  chief  comes  from  the  remote  interior, 
and  offers  his  herds  for  a  Christian  teacher ;  the  vast  king- 
doms and  islands  beyond  the  Ganges  are  ready  for  the  recep- 
tion of  a  number  of  missionaries.  In  one  quarter,  Idolatry 
is  losing  its  hold  on  millions ;  in  another,  the  savage  is 
awakening  from  the  sleep  of  centuries;  here,  Popery  is 
falling  off  from  a  nation,  as  a  snake  casts  its  gaudy  but  shriv- 
elled skin ;  there,  philosophy  is  wearied  out  with  its  ever 
promising  but  unsatisfactory  illusions;  and,  elsewhere,  childish 
credulity  is  becoming  a  man  and  putting  away  childish  things. 
Every  where  are  to  be  seen  an  impatience  of  the  present,  a 
deep  presentiment  that  it  is  hastening  to  decay,  and  a  spirit  of 
inquiry,  anticipation,  and  change,  looking  out  on  the  future. 
As  it  was  with  Judea  and  the  East  generally  about  the  era  of 
the  advent  of  the  Son  of  God,  the  world  is  waiting  for  the 
advent  of  some  principle  or  means  which  shall  change  its 
destinies.  Now,  then,  is  the  time  for  the  church  to  proclaim 
to  it,  "  Behold  your  God." 


SECTION  IV. 

ECCLESIASTICAL   ENCOURAGEMENT   TO   PROMOTE    THE    MISSION- 
ARY   ENTERPRISE. 

Of  Protestant  Christendom  we  proposed  to  speak  sepa- 
rately. And  as  our  object  here  will  be  to  point  out  the  eccle- 
siastical auspices  of  the  missionary  enterprise,  we  shall  direct 
our  attention  chiefly  to  England  and  English  America.     For, 

22 


254  ENCOURAGEMENTS   TO   PROSECUTE 

although  some  of  the  Protestant  churches  of  Switzerland  and 
Holland,  France  and  Germany,  are  prepared  to  send  their 
contingents  into  the  field  of  missionary  labor,  it  may  be  ex- 
pected that  their  resources  will  be  almost  entirely  needed  for 
years  to  come  to  meet  the  demands  of  home ;  while  the  sim- 
ilar resources  of  England,  meantime,  and  of  her  religious 
ally,  are  of  a  degree  which  devolve  on  them  preeminently 
the  office  of  the  religious  instructors  of  the  world. 

That  peculiar  encouragements  for  the  execution  of  the 
office  exist,  we  have  already  seen.  In  vain  would  it  be,  how- 
ever, to  show  that  considerations,  historical,  political,  and 
moral,  conspired  to  animate  the  missionary  enterprise,  if,  at 
the  same  time,  every  thing  in  the  church  itself  seemed  to 
forbid  the  attempt  —  if  the  missionary  spirit,  for  instance,  had 
yet  to  be  enkindled ;  or  if,  having  been  excited,  it  was  evi- 
dently on  the  decline ;  or  if,  having  existed  for  years,  it  yet 
exhibited  no  signs  of  improvement  at  home,  nor  was  attended 
with  any  success  abroad.  But,  in  reality,  the  direct  reverse 
of  each  of  these  suppositions  is  found  to  be  the  truth  ;  and 
hence  our  ecclesiastical  encouragement  to  advance. 

1.  For,  first,  a  missionary  spirit  does  exist  in  our  churches. 
There  was  a  time,  and  that  not  many  years  ago,  when  it  did 
not  exist.  Here  and  there  a  Christian  divine  might  occasion- 
ally advert  to  the  desirableness  of  such  a  spirit ;  a  Christian 
poet  might  tune  his  lyre  to  celebrate  its  glorious  results ;  and 
a  Christian  philanthropist  wish  to  behold  the  sublime  reality. 
But  so  far  from  entertaining  any  definite  views,  or  manifesting 
any  active  zeal  on  the  subject,  the  Christian  community,  in 
general,  resembled  rather  the  altar  and  offering  of  Elijah  when 
immersed  in  water.  And  as,  in  great  undertakings,  the  first 
step  is  commonly  the  most  difficult  and  important,  so  here, 
now  that  fire  has  descended  from  heaven  to  ignite  the  mass, 
we  are  prepared  to  see  the  whole  gradually  become  a  flaming 
sacrifice  for  the  glory  of  God.  That  such  a  sacred  kindling 
has  commenced,  we  have  already  demonstrated  at  large. 
Holy  men  of  God  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  missionary 
enterprise  ;  Christians  have,  associated  for  the  purpose  of 
sending  them  forth ;  and  the  result  has  been,  that  voices  have 
been  heard  in  various  parts  of  the  moral  wilderness  of  the 
world,  crying,  "  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord." 

2.  But  let  us  rather  proceed  to  show  that  not  only  does  the 
missionary  spirit  exist,  but  that  it  is  also  progressive.  It  has, 
we  presume,  passed  that  critical  period  in  the  history  of  a 
society   or  institution  when,  losing  those  sympathies  which 


THE   MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE.  255 

kindle  so  easily  on  contact  with  new  objects,  it  must  rely  on 
principles,  or  perish.  At  first,  the  warm  impulses  of  pious 
feeling  alone  might  serve  to  prompt  to  the  effort,  and  to  sup- 
ply the  place  of  sober  and  substantial  principles. 

But  "  that  spring-time  of  novelty  has  passed.  The  ardent 
feeling  and  the  excited  imagination  which  threw  so  much 
interest  over  the  prospect  of  the  work,  have  given  way  to  the 
grave  reality  of  the  work  itself."  Every  year  has  increas- 
ingly based  its  support  on  its  own  intrinsic  claims.  The 
great  truth  that  every  Christian  is  bound  to  do  something  for 
the  diffusion  of  the  gospel,  long  hid  from  view,  like  a  sand- 
covered  pyramid  of  the  East,  has  been  gradually  disinterred 
and  brought  to  light ;  till  now  it  stands  before  the  church  in 
its  majestic  proportions,  and  is  universally  recognized  as  the 
fundamental  principle  of  the  missionary  enterprise.  No 
longer  is  it  deemed  necessary  to  support  it  by  arguments. 
Being  admitted  as  an  axiom  in  Christian  ethics,  all  that 
remains  is,  to  point  out  its  application,  and  to  enforce  its  im- 
portance. And,  further,  to  show  that  the  church  has  been 
brought  to  act  from  a  calm  and  simple  sense  of  obligation, 
we  might  advert  to  the  fact  that,  since  its  modern  missionary 
activity  commenced,  it  has,  in  some  instances,  endured  pro- 
tracted trials  and  severe  discomfitures,  which  would  have  put 
to  flight  all  mere  impulse,  and  which  only  a  grave  and  deep- 
seated  conviction  of  duty  could  have  sustained.  Notwith- 
standing the  conviction  that  in  this,  as  in  every  grand  and 
lasting  enterprise,  the  great  law  will  obtain,  that  "  one  soweth 
and  another  reapeth,"  the  friends  of  missions  have  continued 
to  go  forth  to  sow. 

It  is  an  auspicious  sign  of  the  progress  of  a  cause,  when  it 
can  not  only  dispense  with  the  impulse  of  mere  excitement, 
and  fall  back  on  its  principles,  but  when,  at  the  very  same 
time,  it  is  found  to  extend  and  deepen  its  influence  on  the 
public  mind.  Now,  the  missionary  cause  has  done  this. 
"  Not  to  pray  for  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,"  said  the  an- 
cient Jewish  proverb,  "  is  not  to  pray  at  all."  And  not  to 
pray  for  the  diffusion  of  his  gospel,  it  may  now  be  said,  is  not 
to  pray  at  all.  Every  prayer  is  expected  to  include  it.  In 
every  religious  family,  the  infant  lisps  of  it  in  his  earliest 
hymn.  The  "  missionary  box "  is  an  object  of  notice  alike 
in  the  nursery  and  the  school-room,  in  the  private  residence 
and  the  public  shop.  The  missionary  tract  is  in  universal 
request  in  every  Sunday  school.     The  missionary  "  branch," 


256  ENCOURAGEMENTS   TO   PROSECUTE 

or  "  auxiliary,"  is  to  be  found  in  activity  in  every  district  and 
every  congregation.  The  missionary  anniversary  is  hailed  as 
the  return  of  a  most  welcome  festival.  The  subject  is  to  be 
met  with  in  newspapers,  and  journals,  and  libraries,  of  almost 
every  description.  Far  and  wide  through  the  land  does  it 
enter  into  our  literature,  and  form  a  part  of  the  public 
reading. 

Nor  is  it  confined  to  any  one  class  of  society.  Beginning 
principally  in  the  middle  ranks,  the  missionary  spirit  has 
descended  and  pervaded  the  mass  of  the  Christian  poor,  and 
at  the  same  time  has  gradually  drawn  within  its  influence 
many  in  the  highest  circles  of  the  nobility.  Nor  is  it  limited 
to  any  one  denomination  of  the  Christian  community,  or 
even  to  any  particular  portion  of  Christendom.  Though 
some  churches  have  attached  themselves  to  the  great  mission- 
ary organization  more  tardily,  and  are  less  powerfully  influ- 
enced by  the  object  than  others,  yet  every  orthodox  Protestant 
body  in  Christendom  has  at  length  joined  it,  and  gives  signs 
of  being  affected  by  it  in  a  similar  manner.  Among  all 
Christians  holding  the  doctrines  of  the  reformation,  there  is 
now  a  common  mind  in  favor  of  the  missionary  enterprise. 

The  prosperity  of  a  cause  is  indicated  also  when  the  nu- 
merical increase  of  its  supporters  is  not  made  an  excuse  for 
the  reduction  of  individual  effort,  but  both  are  seen  advan- 
cing together.  Now,  the  missionary  cause  exhibits  this  sign. 
Each  successive  year  has  witnessed  an  increase  on  the  in- 
come and  activity  of  the  year  preceding.  Christians,  trained 
to  liberality  by  its  beneficent  spirit,  have,  in  many  instances, 
doubled  and  quadrupled  their  subscriptions.  A  salutary 
reaction  has  been  constantly  going  on  between  the  increase 
of  our  labors  abroad  and  the  enlarged  demand  on  our  re- 
sources at  home.  The  more  we  have  given,  the  more  we  have 
been  enabled  to  do ;  and  the  more  we  have  done,  the  more 
we  have  been  constrained  to  give.  The  spiritual  wants  of  the 
world  have  been  brought  to  light  so  much  faster  than  we  have 
been  prepared  to  supply  them,  that  we  have  happily  been  able 
to  think  little  of  what  we  have  done,  in  the  prospect  of  the 
prodigious  field  of  labor  yet  to  be  occupied.  While  every 
attempt  to  raise  the  standard  of  Christian  liberality  and  ac- 
tivity has  been,  upon  the  whole,  so  promptly  responded  to  by 
the  great  body  of  the  faithful,  that  we  are  impelled  to  the 
conclusion  that  considerable  resources  are  yet  to  be  explored, 
and  to  the  holy  resolution  that  every  succeeding  year  shall 


THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  257 

continue  to  develop  and  employ  them.  And  may  we  not  on 
these  grounds  warrantably  hope  that,  though  partial  relapses 
may  occasionally  mark  the  missionary  spirit,  and  even  par- 
ticular societies  fail,  the  next  generation  will  prosecute  the 
work  with  greater  ardor  than  the  present,  and  the  generation 
following  with  still  increased  zeal ;  and  that  thus  the  devoted- 
ness  of  the  followers  of  Christ  will  approximate  nearer  and 
nearer  to  the  elevated  standard  of  his  blessed  gospel  1 

And  it  augurs  well  for  the  prosperity  of  a  cause  when  it 
allows  of  receiving,  and  actually  adopts,  from  time  to  time, 
the  improvements,  which,  being  human,  it  indispensably 
requires.  Many  an  institution,  full  of  promise  at  first,  has 
perished  through  want  of  compliance  with  this  easy  but  im- 
portant condition.  Now,  the  history  of  Christian  missions  is 
a  record  of  successive  corrections  and  improvements.  We 
may  instance  the  gradual  improvement  in  the  kind  of  instru- 
mentality which  they  have  employed.  To  say  nothing  of  the 
sword  alone ;  and  then  of  the  sword  and  the  symbol  of  the 
cross,  conjoined  —  for  these  belonged  to  a  too  distant  period 
and  a  too  questionable  object  —  we  behold  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  modern  missions  the  strange  conjunction  of  the  mis- 
sionary and  a  royal  edict,  as  in  the  mission  sent  to  Lapland 
by  Gustavus  Vasa ;  the  missionary  and  commerce,  as  in  the 
first  Danish  mission  to  Greenland ;  *  the  missionary  and  the 
promise  of  civil  distinctions,  as  in  the  attempts  of  the  Dutch 
to  evangelize  Ceylon.  And  even  in  the  early  history  of  our 
present  institutions,  it  was  considered  in  some  instances  es- 
sential to  success,  that  the  missionary  should  be  preceded  by 
civilization  rather  than  be  the  means  of  introducing  it ;  while 
in  others,  perhaps,  there  was  too  great  a  tendency  to  neglect 
the  means  of  civilization,  even  after  Christianity  had  obtained 
a  footing.  The  missionary  without  the  Bible  has,  and  ever 
must  be,  while  Popery  remains  what  it  is,  the  great  defect  of 
Catholic  missions ;  and  yet  some  of  our  early  efforts  to  con- 
vert the  heathen  were  in  danger  of  suffering  from  the  same 
deficiency.  Then  came  the  full  conviction,  that  education, 
never,  perhaps,  entirely  neglected,  should  uniformly  accom- 
pany the  preaching  of  the  missionary,  and  form  an  essential 
part  of  his  regular  labors.  On  this  followed  the  clear  percep- 
tion, that  if  the  Bible  was  to  be  translated,  the  barbarian  to 

*  The  king  of  Denmark  ordered  a  lottery  in  favor  of  the  Green- 
land mission  and  commerce. 

22* 


258       ENCOURAGEMENTS  TO  PROSECUTE 

be  civilized  and  instructed,  and  a  Christian  community  built 
up,  the  missionary  corps  should  be  "  picked  men ; "  that 
instead  of  rating  their  requirements  lower  than  those  of  the 
ministry  at  home,  the  holiest  and  ablest  men  the  church 
could  send  forth  were  the  fittest.  And  then  came  the  convic- 
tion of  the  importance  of  training  and  employing  native 
Christian  agency  — -  a  step,  perhaps,  more  pregnant  with  good 
to  the  missionary  enterprise  than  even  the  increase  of  our 
own  missionaries. 

During  all  this  time,  too,  the  friends  of  missions  have  been 
learning  the  importance  of  system  in  their  proceedings;  while 
the  wisdom  which  they  have  been  acquiring  by  experience 
has  enabled  them  to  systematize  in  the  manner  best  adapted 
to  their  ultimate  object.  On  the  happy  reciprocal  influence 
of  home  and  foreign  activity ;  on  the  kind  of  preparation 
necessary  for  the  missionary  work ;  on  the  right  selection  of 
missionary  stations;  and  on  the  mutual  adaptation  of  agents 
and  stations,  —  on  these,  and  a  variety  of  correlative  particu- 
lars, their  views  have  been  receiving  perpetual  correction  and 
expansion.  And  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  remark  here, 
that  if  their  object  be  to  publish  the  gospel  every  where  in 
the  shortest  time,  a  more  judicious  selection  of  missionary 
posts  could  hardly  have  been  made  than  that  which,  by  a  wis- 
dom higher  than  their  own,  they  now  occupy.  Few  as  those 
stations  are,  compared  with  the  vast  field  of  heathenism,  they 
are  so  distributed  that  the  efforts  of  the  church  must  soon  be 
heard  of  by  the  great  proportion  of  mankind,  and  the  entire 
world,  meantime,  may  be  said  to  be  calling  for  relief  within 
view  and  hearing  of  the  church. 

8.  Another  auspicious  fact  is,  that  at  such  a  conjuncture 
the  providence  of  God  should  furnish  so  many  facilities  and 
auxiliaries  for  the  prosecution  of  the  work.  The  intercom- 
munity between  all  the  provinces  of  the  Roman  empire  which 
aided  the  early  propagation  of  the  gospel,  and  the  newly- 
formed  power  of  the  press  which  came  in  aid  of  the  reforma- 
tion, though  parallel  facts,  are  not  to  be  compared  with  the 
subsidiary  aids  in  the  service*of  the  gospel  at  present.  What, 
for  instance,  was  the  intercommunity  to  which  we  have 
alluded,  compared  with  the  facilities  afforded  now,  by  im- 
proved navigation  alone,  for  visiting  the  remotest  parts  of  the 
earth  1  Was  the  central  position  of  Judea  a  favorable  cir- 
cumstance for  the  first  diffusion  of  the  gospel  ?  Britain  is 
the  Phoenicia  of  the  modern  world,  with  every  part  of  which 


THE    MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  259 

we  are  in  constant  communication.  Was  the  early  propaga- 
tion of  Christianity  materially  promoted  by  the  dispersion  of 
the  Jews  among  the  surrounding  nations  ?  Still  more  widely 
are  British  Christians  distributed  among  the  nations  now, 
and  still  more  effectually,  therefore,  have  they  the  means  of 
contributing  to  the  same  glorious  end.  Did  the  greatness  of 
the  Roman  empire  present  an  ample  field  for  missionary  ex- 
ertion 1  it  is  only  an  angle  of  the  field  which  now  awaits  our 
labor.  The  transmarine  possessions  of  Britain  have  an  area 
of  2,200,000  square  miles,  a  sea-coast  of  20,000  nautical 
miles,  and  a  population  of  120,000,000.  But  our  labors  are 
not  limited  to  these ;  our  "  field  is  the  world."  Did  "  the 
gift  of  tongues "  conduce  to  the  primitive  diffusion  of  the 
gospel  1  The  power  of  the  press  has  come  to  us  in  its  stead, 
enabling  us  to  speak  to  the  nations  in  a  manner  not  depend- 
ent on  the  utterance  of  the  speaker,  but  which  often  antici- 
pates his  arrival,  prepares  the  minds  of  a  people  for  his  mes- 
sage, and  continues  to  echo  it,  after  his  departure,  from  gen- 
eration to  generation.  So  mighty  a  power  and  so  rich  a  gift 
is  this,  that  had  we  to  choose  between  it  and  the  gift  of 
tongues,  we  should  all  probably  give  it  our  decided  prefer- 
ence. In  a  single  year  it  multiplies  copies  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures by  thousands  and  hundreds  of  thousands;  and,  if 
need  be,  it  could  multiply  them  in  the  same  time  by  as  many 
millions.  So  that  as  far  as  the  means  for  the  propagation  of 
the  gospel  are  concerned,  the  Bible  Society  alone  gives  us 
a  decided  advantage  over  the  primitive  church.  Having 
"  rolled  a  noble  stream  of  truth  through  the  earth,  it  requires 
that  the  missionary  should  stand  upon  the  banks,  and  cry, 
'  Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters.'  " 

Success  is  seldom  or  never  the  result  of  a  single  influence ; 
and  in  addition  to  the  complex  aid  to  the  missionary  enter- 
prise we  have  already  named,  we  may  notice  the  favorable 
influence  of  the  British  character.  The  fact  of  our  success 
in  arms,  our  love  of  regulated  liberty,  and  our  priority  in  the 
race  of  scientific  and  civil  improvement ;  our  national  enter- 
prise, and  the  unparalleled  extent  of  our  colonial  possessions  ; 
our  reputation  for  commercial  integrity,  for  all  that  is  hu- 
mane, generous,  and  noble  in  designs  of  benevolence  ;  and 
the  multiplicity  of  our  moral  means  for  accomplishing  them  ; 
—  these,  and  many  other  elements  of  individual  worth  and  na- 
tional greatness,  tend  to  invest  our  missionary  character  with 
additional  weight  in  every  part  of  the  earth.     How  far  the 


260  ENCOURAGEMENTS   TO   PROSECUTE 

general  diffusion  of  the  English  language  and  literature  may 
have  already  subserved  the  missionary  object  we  know  not, 
nor  how  much  that  object  would  be  likely  to  be  promoted  by 
their  ultimate  universality ;  but  it  is  clear  that  if  any  lan- 
guage is  likely  to  become  universal,  that  language  is  the 
English ;  and  that,  considering  how  deeply  most  of  our  early 
standard  works  are  imbued  with  a  religious  spirit,  none  could 
have  fallen  in  with  our  evangelical  design  more  directly  than 
this. 

We  might  invite  special  observation  to  the  fact  that  certain 
influences  which  a  few  years  ago  were  arrayed,  not  against 
the  missionary  enterprise  merely,  but  against  evangelical 
religion  itself,  are  now  ranged  on  their  side.  Science  — 
chemistry  alone  —  destroys  Polytheism,  root  and  branch. 
All  the  superstitions  of  the  world  involve  more  or  less  the 
worship  of  the  elements ;  but  chemistry  can  decompose  those 
very  elements  themselves,  and  thus  leave  the  Hindoo  with- 
out his  gods :  so  that  a  child  armed  with  a  microscope  is 
mightier,  and  more  to  be  dreaded  by  Brahminism,  than 
Samson  by  the  Philistines  when  he  slew  thern  "  heaps  upon 
heaps." 

The  aspect  which  the  national  government,  and  that  mighty 
power  called  public  opinion,  now  present  to  the  cause  of 
missions,  exhibit  an  auspicious  contrast  with  the  past.  There 
was  a  time  when  the  English  missionary  in  India  was  indebted 
for  protection  to  the  Danish  crown.  There  was  a  time  when 
the  cry  was  raised,  for  anti-missionary  purposes,  that  our 
empire  in  India  was  an  empire  of  opinion,  and  when  all  the 
force  of  that  empire  was  against  us.  There  was  a  time  when 
the  press  was  kept  in  spasms  of  activity  by  the  Christian  ad- 
vocates of  heathenism  for  India ;  when  pamphlet  after  pam- 
phlet proclaimed  their  veneration  for  the  ancient  Hindoo 
pantheon,  and  their  rage  at  any  mark  of  contempt  shown  to 
it,  as  if  an  affront  had  been  offered  to  a  valued  friend,  which 
they  were  bound  most  indignantly  to  resent.  But  let  us 
mark,  in  a  single  instance,  the  indication  of  a  change.  "  It 
is  a  happy  circumstance,"  says  the  "  Friend  of  India,"  "  that 
Providence  has  placed  so  great  a  number  of  the  Burmese 
provinces  under  the  sway  of  Britain,  in  which  the  mission- 
aries" (driven  from  Ava  and  Rangoon,  where  a  cruel  perse- 
cution has  been  raised  against  the  native  converts)  "  are  at 
liberty  to  carry  on  their  benevolent  labors  without  hinderance. 
It  is  not  a  little  singular  that  whereas  the  Burmese  mission 


THE    MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  261 

grew  out  of  the  persecution  of  the  British  government  thirty 
years  ago,  which  constrained  the  missionaries  to  seek  for 
spheres  of  labor  beyond  the  reach  of  British  interference ;  at 
present,  the  salvation  of  the  Burmese  mission  is  owing,  under 
God,  to  the  protection  which  that  same  government,  more 
alive  to  its  Christian  obligations,  is  enabled  to  afford  in  its 
conquered  provinces." 

In  addition  to  all  these  auxiliaries  to  the  cause  of  missions, 
we  might  point  attention  to  two  to  which  we  have  already 
incidentally  adverted,  —  to  education  and  native  agency. 
By  the  former  of  these  we  are  comparatively  foregoing  par- 
tial and  immediate  success,  for  the  sake  of  preparing  with 
much  greater  certainty,  and  to  an  incomparably  wider  extent, 
the  future  overthrow  of  idolatry,  and  a  consequent  way  for 
the  march  of  the  truth  over  its  ruins.  And,  by  the  latter,  we 
are  not  only  taking  to  the  converted  heathen  the  fruits  of  the 
tree  of  life,  but,  in  a  sense,  are  planting  the  tree  in  their  soil, 
and  leaving  it  to  grow  and  flourish  among  them. 

Now,  if  our  remarks  on  missionary  progress  proved  that 
there  is  more  of  a  missionary  spirit  in  the  church  at  present 
than  has  ever  existed  since  primitive  times,  our  observations 
on  missionary  facilities  tend  to  show  that  our  amount  of 
means  for  the  conversion  of  the  world  is  considerably  greater 
than  existed  even  during  those  times.  All  the  weapons  of 
victory  which  they  possessed,  with  the  exception  of  miracles, 
are  at  our  disposal ;  and  others  of  equal  and  even  superior 
power  are  added  to  them.  Some  of  these,  indeed,  are  chiefly 
in  the  service  of  the  world,  but  they  exist  for  the  church. 
Others  were  obstacles,  but  have  become  auxiliaries.  Indeed, 
whatever  designates  Britain  as  the  country  destined  by  Prov- 
idence to  take  the  lead  in  works  of  beneficence,  must  be 
regarded  as  an  encouragement  to  the  missionary  enterprise ; 
and  to  a  church  alive  to  this  object,  all  things  around  are 
ready  and  offer  themselves  as  an  apparatus  for  its  successful 
prosecution. 

4.  But  not  only  is  the  missionary  spirit  in  existence,  in 
progress,  and  surrounded  by  numerous  and  powerful  auxil- 
iaries ;  it  has  been  crowned  with  signal  success.  Had  only 
a  single  instance  of  usefulness  attended  its  endeavors,  even 
that  would  have  been  sufficient  to  redeem  the  enterprise  from 
mere  hopelessness.  But  the  preceding  Part  contains  abun- 
dant evidence  to  show  that  our  success  has  been  fully  pro- 
portioned  to  our  efforts ;  that  advantages  have  flowed  from 


2(52  ENCOURAGEMENTS   TO   PROSECUTE 

our  activity  which  nothing  else  could  have  conferred ;  and 
that  the  glorious  result  has  abundantly  exceeded  the  most 
sanguine  expectations  of  those  with  whom  the  enterprise 
began. 

We  will  here  add  only  two  remarks,  that,  great  as  our 
missionary  success  has  been  already,  the  Christian  church  is 
filled  with  the  expectation  of  seeing  greater  things  than  these. 
While  a  sentiment  of  despondency  and  vague  apprehension 
hangs. over  the  regions  of  false  religion,  in  the  Christian 
church  the  present  is  an  era  of  expectation  and  hope ;  and 
the  influence  of  hope  contributes  not  a  little  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  its  own  predictions.  Besides  which,  the  friends 
of  Christian  missions  are  entertaining  a  confident  persuasion 
of  the  approach  of  a  period  when  the  influence  of  the  Spirit 
will  descend  with  much  greater  efficacy,  and  their  success 
will  be  far  greater  than  at  present,  in  proportion  to  the  meas- 
ure of  their  exertion.  They  deem  it"  reasonable  to  believe," 
says  Foster,  in  the  admirable  Discourse  already  adverted  to, 
"  that  when  once  a  certain  point  of  success  has  been  attained, 
the  mere  accumulation  of  power  and  influence  on  the  side 
of  truth  will  impart  an  irresistible  momentum  and  a  greatly 
accelerated  velocity  to  religious  principles,  so  that  the  last 
conquest  of  Christianity  shall  be  accomplished  in  an  incom- 
parably shorter  period  than  has  been  occupied  in  achieving 
its  first  successes."  Judging  from  the  past,  they  think  it 
likely  that  when  the  native  mind  of  a  populous  heathen  land 
begins  to  awake  and  act,  it  will  act  in  masses ;  that  the  law 
of  sympathy,  becoming  subservient  to  a  higher  influence,  the 
"  wind  will  blow  where  it  listeth,"  so  that  no  one  will  be  able 
to  say  whence  the  impulse  came,  or  what  is  the  direction  it 
will  take.  Thus  may  "  a  nation  be  born  in  a  day."  "  Be- 
hold, the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  the  ploughman  shall 
overtake  the  reaper,  and  the  treader  of  grapes  him  that  sow- 
eth  seed." 

The  conversion  of.  many  parts  of  the  earth,  like  that  of 
Polynesia,  will  probably  be  effected  with  a  rapidity  which  will 
take  even  the  church  by  surprise.  And  thus  it  will  be  seen 
that "  God  had  prepared  the  people,  for  the  thing  was  done 
suddenly;  "  and  "  he  shall  bear  the  glory." 


THE   MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE. 


SECTION  V. 

EVANGELICAL     ENCOURAGEMENT    TO     PROMOTE     THE     MISSION- 
ARY   ENTERPRISE. 

But  our  great  fund  of  missionary  encouragement  is  evan- 
gelical, being  derived  exclusively  from  the  word  of  God. 
And  so  animating  and  ample  is  this,  that  were  all  the  others 
not  only  wanting,  but  converted  into  so  many  sources  of  ap- 
prehension, we  should  yet  rely  on  the  ultimate  success  of  our 
endeavors. 

1.  In  order,  however,  that  we  may  not  retread  the  ground 
we  have  already  passed  over,  nor  open  too  wide  a  field  for 
fresh  observation,  we  shall  here  confine  ourselves  to  three 
specific  grounds  of  encouragement.  The  first  of  these  con- 
sists of  the  fact  that  the  missionary  enterprise  has  to  receive 
the  benefit  of  a  vast  amount  of  prayer,  as  yet  unanswered, 
in  its  behalf.  It  was  predicted  of  Solomon,  as  typical  of 
Christ,  "  prayer  also  shall  be  made  for  him  continually." 
And  it  is  cheering  to  reflect,  that  in  the  present  day  there  is 
a  sense  in  which  the  prophecy  has  received,  literally,  its  evan- 
gelical accomplishment.  "  Last  evening,"  wrote  a  mission- 
ary from  China,  a  few  years  ago,  "  a  small  party  of  the  disci- 
ples of  Jesus  held  a  meeting  for  prayer  in  my  rooms,  in 
behalf  of  the  heathen  around,  and  for  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
throughout  the  world.  In  this  land  of  the  rising  sun,  we  may 
probably  be  considered  as  beginning  that  series  of  prayer- 
meetings  which  are  kept  up  all  around  the  world  on  the  first 
Monday  of  the  month ;  a  chain  of  prayer,  beginning  at  the 
farthest  east,  and  carried  round  successively  as  the  sun  ad- 
vances to  the  farthest  west  in  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
and  thus  continued  for  twenty-four  hours,  monthly." 

Now,  it  is  only  to  pursue  this  calculation,  and  to  suppose 
that  wherever  there  are  Christians  to  pray  monthly  in  public 
for  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  there  are  some  to  pray  daily  in 
private  for  the  same  object,  and  then  we  are  brought  to  the 
delightful  conclusion,  that  prayer  is  made  for  him  contin- 
ually ;  that  as  the  aged  believer,  like  David,  breathes  out  his 
last  prayer  for  the  glory  of  his  reign,  another  generation  is 
just  beginning  to  lisp,  "Thy  kingdom  come;"  and  as  the 
Christians  of  one  province  are  rising  from  their  knees  before 
the  throne  of  grace,  the  Christians  of  another  province  are 


ENCOURAGEMENTS   TO   PROSECUTE 

just  beginning  to  take  up  the  language  of  supplication  for 
Christ ;  and  thus  a  chain  of  prayer,  beginning  in  the  farthest 
east,  is  carried  round  with  the  sun  to  the  farthest  west,  in 
the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  through  all  the  hours  of  time. 

And  how  much  more  pleasing  does  this  reflection  become, 
when  we  add  to  it  the  thought,  that  of  all  the  prayers  which 
are  thus  offered  for  the  reign  of  Christ,  making  one  unbroken 
strain  of  supplication,  not  one  ever  has  been  or  can  be  lost. 
Is  it  true  that  every  sin  committed  by  his  enemies  is  noticed 
by  a  God  of  unspotted  holiness?  that  every  transgression 
adds  something  to  the  treasures  of  his  wrath  ;  and  that  when 
the  cup  of  vengeance  is  full,  he  pours  it  forth  on  the  heads 
of  the  guilty  ?  —  As  certainly  true  is  it  that  every  prayer  of 
faith  offered  by  his  people  in  behalf  of  his  Son,  is  noticed  by 
a  God  of  infinite  love ;  that  every  such  prayer  adds  some- 
thing to  the  treasures  of  his  grace;  and  that  when  these 
treasures  have  accumulated  to  a  certain  amount,  he  pours 
them  forth  upon  the  church  and  the  world.  It  is  as  certainly 
true  that  at  the  very  moment  when  such  a  prayer  is  offered, 
in  that  very  moment  he  answers'  it  in  his  divine  intention, 
though  he  may  wisely  delay  for  a  time  to  answer  it  really. 
The  suppliant  himself  may  forget  his  own  supplication,  or  may 
despair  of  obtaining  an  answer ;  but  He  is  still  mindful  of  it. 
And  however  obscure  the  suppliant,  He  prizes  it.  It  is  prayer 
for  his  Son,  and  as  such,  it  is  music  in  his  ear,  of  which  he 
loses  not  a  single  note.  It  is  a  prayer  for  the  coming  of  his 
kingdom,  and  as  such,  he  places  it  among  the  perfumed  sup- 
plications already  offered  by  the  saints  of  past  generations ; 
lie  places  it  among  the  last  aspirations  breathed  by  "  David, 
the  son  of  Jesse,"  and  of  every  ancient  worthy ;  among  the 
mighty  prayers  which  ascended  from  the  fires  of  the  early 
martyrs ;  among  the  loud  cries  of  those  whose  souls  are  heard 
from  under  the  altar  ;  among  the  earnest  entreaties  of  the  wide 
creation,  which  sighs  to  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of 
corruption  into  the. glorious  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God.  It 
is  a  prayer  for  the  salvation  of  a  world  which  he  loves ;  and, 
with  delight,  he  beholds  it  flow  into  a  channel  in  which  a 
stream  of  prayer  has  been  for  ages  flowing  and  accumulating 
without  a  moment's  pause,  and  which  shall  finally  overflow 
and  pour  forth  a  healing  flood  of  heavenly  grace  over  the 
whole  earth.  If  the  success  which  has  hitherto  attended  our 
missionary  efforts  is  to  be  regarded  as  sent  partly  in  answer 
to  prayer,  an  indefinite  amount  of  success  is  yet  to  come,  if 


THE   MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE.  265 

only  to  complete  that  answer ;  for  that  prayer  has  aimed  at 
nothing  less  than  the  salvation  of  the  world.  And  our  par- 
tial success  proves  that  it  will  come;  proves  that,  like  the 
vapor  which  the  earth  sends  up  to  heaven  to  be  returned 
again  in  fruitful  showers,  the  supplications  of  the  church 
form  a  cloud  which  is  at  this  moment  suspended  over  the 
whole  field  of  moral  cultivation,  ready,  at  the  word  of  God, 
to  discharge  its  fertilizing  contents.  "  Ye  that  love  the  Lord, 
keep  not  silence." 

2.  But  the  efforts  of  Christians  to  evangelize  the  world 
have  also  to  receive  the  benefit  of  many  a  yet  unfulfilled 
promise  and  prediction  of  divine  influence.  This  is  a  source 
of  encouragement  additional  to  the  former ;  for  it  both  anti- 
cipates our  prayers,  and  directs  us  to  the  object  at  which  they 
should  aim. 

We  are  taught  to  believe,  in  the  word  of  God,  that  for 
every  degree  of  spiritual  success  we  are  entirely  dependent 
on  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  But,  in  order  that  this 
doctrine  might  tend  to  animate  our  efforts,  as  well  as  to  ren- 
der us  humble,  we  are  also  assured  that  a  measure  of  his  in- 
fluence shall  accompany  every  scriptural  effort  we  make,  and 
be  imparted  in  answer  to  every  prayer  of  faith  we  present. 
The  whole  system  of  religious  means,  indeed,  is  divinely 
appointed,  and  expressly  intended,  as  that  in  immediate  con- 
nection with  which  He  is  to  act ;  and  all  the  spiritual  good 
already  accomplished  has  been  effected,  so  far  as  we  can 
ascertain,  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  this  connection.  But  we  are 
taught,  also,  that  this  gracious  arrangement  still  leaves  him 
at  liberty  to  exceed  that  assurance  as  he  pleases.  Indeed,  we 
are  taught  this  by  the  manner  in  which  he  often  fulfils  that 
very  assurance  ;  for  while  he  never  disappoints  the  just  expec- 
tations which  it  has  excited  in  his  people,  the  circumstances 
attending  their  fulfilment  exhibit  the  endless  diversity  of  un- 
confined  and  unconfinable  power.  Hence  the  reason  of  the 
language,  "  In  the  morning  sow  thy  seed,  and  in  the  evening 
withhold  not  thy  hand ;  for  thou  knowest'  not  whether  shall 
prosper,  this  or  that." 

But  while  we  are  to  regulate  our  expectations  as  to  the 
success  of  particular  efforts,  we  are  animated  with  confidence 
as  to  the  final  success  of  the  entire  work.  If  it  is  not  given 
us  to  assign  the  manner  or  the  degree  in  which  particular 
instances  of  success  will  take  place,  it  is  only,  perhaps,  that 
our  confidence  may  be  more  undivided  and  fixed  on  the  suc- 
23 


266  ENCOURAGEMENTS    TO   PROSECUTE 

cess  destined  to  crown  the  great  system  of  means  taken  as  a 
whole.  For  the  substantial  import  of  numerous  divine  pre- 
dictions is,  that  the  Spirit  shall  be  poured  out  from  on  high  ; 
that  he  shall  be  poured  out  upon  all  flesh ;  and  that  then  the 
wilderness  will  be  a  fruitful  field,  and  the  fruitful  field  be 
counted  for  a  forest.  Now,  as  he  uniformly  operates  for  the 
truth,  or  in  connection  with  it ;  and  as  the  object  of  the  mis- 
sionary enterprise  is  the  universal  diffusion  of  the  truth,  we 
are  encouraged  to  look  for  the  fulfilment  of  these  predictions 
in  the  success  of  this  enterprise.  And  since  the  only  way 
in  which  he  has  ever  acted  as  if  he  had  forgotten  his  promise, 
is,  by  doing  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  which  it  had 
led  us  to  ask  or  think,  we  are  encouraged  to  hope  for  a 
period  when  the  amount  of  his  influence  will  be  much  greater 
than  at  present,  as  compared  with  the  amount  of  our  activity. 
But  if  such  a  period  be  in  reserve,  it  must  be  nearer  now 
than  at  any  preceding  moment ;  and  if  any  signs  are  to  indi- 
cate its  approach,  we  may  surely  recognize  some  in  the  re- 
turning anxiety  and  activity  of  the  church  for  the  salvation 
of  the  world,  and  in  the  preparation  which  the  world  exhibits 
for  some  great  moral  change.  And  what  else  will  be  neces- 
sary but  the  arrival  of  such  a  period  for  the  consummation 
of  all  our  missionary  designs?  Only  let  the  church  behold 
the  fulfilment  of  the  promises  and  predictions  which  relate 
to  the  impending  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  work 
will  be  as  good  as  accomplished.  The  three  thousand  souls 
added  to  the  church  in  one  day  by  the  preaching  of  St. 
Peter,  would  then  prove  to  have  been  intended  as  a  mere 
earnest  of  the  rapid  progress  which  the  faith  should  make 
universally.  Like  the  first  rumor  of  victory,  the  news  of 
salvation  should  seem  to  fly  swifter  than  the  speed  of  the 
messengers  sent  to  proclaim  it ;  and  wherever  proclaimed, 
the  people  should  bow  before  it. 

3.  And  then,  finally,  all  our  scriptural  activity  for  the 
diffusion  of  the  gospel  is  in  obedience  to  the  will  of  Christ, 
and  its  final  success  is  secured  by  the  fact  of  his  mediatorial 
reign.  The  essential  connection  of  these  two  propositions 
was  established  by  Christ  himself,  when  he  said,  "  All  power 
is  given  unto  me,  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  Go  ye,  therefore, 
and  teach  all  nations ;  "  intimating,  that  not  only  is  the  great 
system  of  universal  providence  committed  to  his  hands,  but 
that  it  is  committed  to  him  expressly  that  it  may  be  made 
subservient  to  the  successful  diffusion  and  eventual  triumph 


THE    MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  2G7 

of  his  gospel.  As  if,  having  entered  the  spacious  treasury  of 
God,  and  taken  account  of  all  its  infinite  stores;  having  reck- 
oned up  all  the  orders  of  heavenly  intelligences,  and  marked 
their  respective  capacities  for  his  service;  having  looked 
down  through  all  the  ages  of  time,  counted  its  generations, 
and  numbered  its  events,  he  had  said,  All  these  shall  be  har- 
monized, combined  into  a  system,  and  made  contributory  to 
the  one  object  of  human  salvation.  Vast  as  is  the  space  they 
occupy,  there  is  not  a  point  in  it  which  shall  not  in  some  way 
be  impressed  with  the  signs  of  their  activity ;  a  theatre  less 
ample  would  not  be  adequate  to  the  development  of  my  plan. 
Diversified  as  are  the  kinds  and  degrees  of  influence  they  are 
calculated  to  exert,  and  even  hostile  as  many  of  them  are  to 
my  purpose  and  to  each  other,  there  is  not  one  of  them  all 
which  cannot,  and  which  shall  not,  yield  its  proportion  of 
willing  or  unwilling  service.  And  distant  as  is  the  period 
when  the  last  soul  shall  be  saved,  there  shall  not  be  a  mo- 
ment through  the  whole  of  the  mighty  interval  in  which  all 
these  countless  and  far-reaching  agencies  shall  not  be  grad- 
ually concentrating  their  forces,  and  pointing,  more  and 
more  directly,  to  that  grand  consummation.  "  All  power  is 
given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth ;  go  ye,  therefore,  and 
preach  the  gospel." 

The  connection  of  these  encouraging  views  with  the  pre- 
ceding parts,  as  well  as  their  practical  application,  are  direct 
and  important.  The  facts  and  sentiments  of  which  these 
parts  consist,  are  themselves  encouragements  to  missionary 
exertion  ;  and  as  such,  they  naturally  fall  in  with  our  present 
train  of  remark,  and  multiply  our  incentives  to  increased 
activity. 

For  instance,  is  it  a  slender  encouragement  to  those  who 
are  embarked  in  the  missionary  enterprise  to  find  that  the 
Christian  church  is  constructed  expressly  with  a  view  to  that 
great  object?  Should  it  afford  us  only  slight  encouragement 
to  find  that  the  aggressive  principles  of  such  a  church  were 
shown  to  be  practicable  as  soon  as  they  were  made  known, 
and  were  attended  with  unexampled  success  as  soon  as  they 
were  put  into  activity  ?  Ought  it  to  yield  us  only  small  en- 
couragement to  find  that  the  tenor  of  prophecy,  even  to  its 
last  words,  tells  of  missionary  labors  and  of  a  triumphant  gos- 
pel ?  Or  ought  it  to  be  regarded  as  auspicious  only  in  a  very 
slight  degree,  that,  as  far  as  we  have  acted  under  the  influence 
of  these  encouragements  in  modern  times,  they  have  proved 


268  ENCOURAGEMENTS   TO   PROSECUTE 

authentic  ?  that  our  missionary  usefulness  has  been  fully  pro- 
portioned to  our  endeavors  ?  and  that  advantages  have  flown 
from  it  both  of  a  kind  and  a  degree  on  which  the  most  san- 
guine of  those  with  whom  it  commenced  had  never  calcu- 
lated? And,  considering  the  obstacles  which  stood  in  the 
way  of  this  success,  and  the  remarkable  manner  in  which 
many  of  them  have  been  removed  ;  how  considerately  and 
kindly  our  impatience  has  been  rebuked,  our  errors  corrected, 
and  our  ignorance  instructed ;  how  opportunely  suitable 
agents  have  been  raised  up  for  occupying  peculiar  spheres 
of  usefulness ;  and  how  unexpectedly  aid  has  come  in  from 
the  most  unlikely  quarters,  and  enemies  and  apparent  evils 
been  converted  into  valuable  auxiliaries  and  friends ;  are  we 
not  constrained  to  trace  it  to  the  glorious  fact,  that  *'  The 

God  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ hath   put  all  things 

under  his  feet,  and  gave  him  to  be  the  head  over  all  things 
to  the  church,  which  is  his  body,  the  fulness  of  him  that  fill- 
eth  all  in  all  "  ? 

We  commenced  the  present  Part  by  showing  that  the  his- 
tory of  Christianity,  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  present,  is 
replete  with  encouragement  to  attempt  its  further  propaga- 
tion ;  that  even  in  the  first  age  of  its  existence,  when  it  was 
the  mark  at  which  every  weapon,  human  and  infernal,  was 
levelled,  each  of  its  conflicts  was  a  splendid  victory ;  that 
even  its  moral  weakness  has  been  too  strong  for  barbarian 
might ;  that  its  false  friends  have  never  been  able  to  corrupt 
it  beyond  its  power  of  self-renovation,  nor  its  avowed  ene- 
mies to  assail  it,  even  at  its  greatest  disadvantage,  without 
finding  to  their  cost  that  it  is  still  as  vigorous  and  aggressive 
as  ever.  Now,  after  all  this  accumulated  evidence  that  Christ 
is  invested  with  supreme  power,  and  that  he  wields  it  for 
the  protection  and  progress  of  his  gospel,  can  we  believe 
that  he  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever,  without 
feeling   that  our  cause  is  invulnerable,  and  its  triumphant 


issue  secure 


On  taking  a  survey  of  the  political  world  in  its  relation  to 
the  church,  we  have  seen  that  all  the  rest  of  the  globe  seems 
placed  by  Providence  at  the  disposal  of  Christendom  ;  that 
of  all  the  nations  of  Christendom,  those  which  are  especially 
distinguished  with  political  influence  over  the  pagan  and 
Mahometan  regions  are  the  Reformed  and  anti-Papal  pow- 
ers ;  and  that  of  these  powers,  Britain  and  America,  the  only 
Protestant  nations  capable,  at  present,  of  becoming  the  re- 


THE    MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  269 

ligious  teachers  of  the  world,  are  the  nations  to  which  has 
been  given  the  political  command  of  those  regions.  Now, 
can  we  mark  these  "  wheels  within  a  wheel,"  can  we  ac- 
count for  these  impcria  in  imperio,  without  resolving  them 
into  the  sublime  truth  that  the  Lord  reigneth  ?  Or  can  we 
believe  that  this  threefold  collocation  of  the  various  parts 
of  the  world  around  the  missionary  portion  of  the  church, 
results  from  his  mediatorial  arrangements,  without  hearing 
the  loud  and  encouraging  call  which  arises  from  it  to  "  go 
forwards"  1 

Besides  which,  the  moral  aspect  of  the  mass  of  mankind, 
as  we  have  seen,  presents  encouragement  to  the  same  effect. 
Not  only  is  the  heathen  world  arranged,  in  a  sense,  around 
the  church,  but  its  state  is  that  of  feebleness,  exhaustion,  and 
desire  of  relief.  Without  knowing  what  is  the  nature  of  its 
malady,  it  is  sick  at  heart,  and  panting  for  a  change.  Now, 
if  its  political  position  in  relation  to  the  church  evinces  the 
provident  activity  of  the  reign  of  Christ,  is  not  that  evidence 
materially  increased  when  viewed  in  connection  with  its 
moral  condition  ?  It  is  not  only  brought  to  our  door,  but 
brought  at  a  moment  when  it  is  famishing.  It  is  not  merely 
placed  within  our  reach,  but  is  actually  fallen  at  our  thresh- 
old. Could  any  conjunction  of  circumstances  afford  us  a 
better  opportunity  of  presenting  the  gospel,  or  a  more  encour- 
aging prospect  of  its  favorable  reception  ? 

And  should  it  not  add  something  to  our  hopes  that  this 
happy  juncture  has  arrived  at  the  very  moment  when  the 
church,  after  neglecting  the  world  for  centuries,  is  awaken- 
ing to  its  missionary  obligations  ?  Is  not  such  a  coincidence 
indicative  of  providential  arrangement,  and  worthy  of  it  ?  Is 
it  nothing  that  the  commencement  of  the  missionary  enter- 
prise should  have  proved  like  the  bursting  forth  of  a  fountain 
of  internal  prosperity  in  the  church  itself?  Is  it  nothing  that 
Missionary,  Bible,  and  Educational  Societies  should  have 
arisen  precisely  in  that  order  of  succession  which  the  nature 
of  the  case  required  1  Should  it  pass  unnoticed  that  all  the 
great  discoveries  and  improvements  of  science  are  more  or 
less  auxiliary  to  missionary  purposes  ?  and  even  if  no  other 
encouraging  consideration  could  be  adduced,  ought  not  the 
single  fact  that  God  has  smiled  on  our  efforts,  to  be  sufficient 
of  itself  1o  induce  us  to  proceed?  Ought  not  the  firm  per- 
suasion that  there  are  many  who,  by  the  blessing  of  God  on 
our  instrumentality,  have  been  rescued  from  the  depths  of 
23* 


270  ENCOURAGEMENTS   TO   PROSECUTE 

heathenism,  and  who  are  at  this  moment  swelling  the  chorus 
of  the  blessed  above,  to  animate  our  zeal,  and  redouble  our 
endeavors  ? 

But  the  great  evangelical  fund  of  encouragement  remains 
to  be  considered.  Does  the  effectual  fervent  prayer  of  a 
righteous  man  avail  much  ?  The  missionary  enterprise  in- 
herits the  prayers  of  the  entire  church.  All  the  redeemed  in 
heaven  have  prayed  for  it ;  and  it  engages  their  sympathies 
still.  And,  what  is  infinitely  more,  it  enjoys  the  intercession 
of  the  Great  Advocate  himself.  Is  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  essential  to  missionary  success  1  Drops  of  the  coming 
shower  have  already  fallen  ;  and  still  the  cloud  enlarges  and 
descends,  and  gives  signs  of  the  impending  blessing.  Is  it 
necessary  that  infinite  faithfulness  and  power  should  show 
themselves  interested  in  it  in  order  to  assure  us  of  its  suc- 
cess 1  All  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth  is  given  to  Christ 
to  render  the  success  of  his  gospel  certain.  The  present 
evangelical  economy  exists  for  it.  All  the  machinery  of  prov- 
idence is  constructed  to  advance  it.  The  world  itself  is  main- 
tained only  as  the  theatre  for  its  progress.  Nature,  providence, 
and  grace,  are  not  three  independent  departments  of  the 
divine  government.  They  are  only  concentric  circles  re- 
volving around  one  centre  —  the  cross  of  Christ.  For  the 
diffusion  of  its  influence  Christ  himself  reigns,  and  harmo- 
nizes and  administers  all  their  revolutions.  To  this  object, 
nothing  within  the  vast  circumference  of  his  government  is 
indifferent.  Nothing  is  too  great  to  serve  it,  or  too  minute 
to  promote  it.  Nothing  opposed  to  it  is  allowed  to  triumph  ; 
nothing  friendly  to  it  can  fail  to  yield  its  mite  of  auxiliary 
influence.  Nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  is  allowed  to  quit 
the  stage  of  activity,  without  leaving  behind  some  tribute  to 
its  claims. 

And  are  these  our  encouragements  to  prosecute  the  mis- 
sionary enterprise  ?  What  else  means  the  mediatorial  sover- 
eign by  associating  the  command  to  proclaim  his  gospel  with 
the  announcement  that  all  power  is  his  ?  What  else  means 
the  sublime  declaration  that  all  things  are  by  him,  and/br 
him  ?  What  else  mean  the  conspicuous  and  undeniable  facts 
that  only  two  or  three  thrones  of  paganism  are  left;  that  a 
hand  mightier  than  Samson's  should  be  laid  upon  these;  that 
the  gospel,  after  surviving  a  thousand  conflicts,  should  be 
seen  exhibiting  the  vigor  and  activity  of  its  youth  1  and  that 
the  church,  in  awaking  to  its  diffusion,  should  have  opened  a 
new  source  of  internal  happiness  and  prosperity  for  itself? 


THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  271 

Are  these  our  encouragements  to  expect  success  ?  Then 
'  be  silent,  O  all  flesh,  before  the  Lord;  for  he  is  raised  up 
out  of  his  holy  habitation."  Be  hushed  the  language  of  com- 
plaint and  unbelief;  be  silenced  the  taunts  of  infidelity,  in- 
quiring, Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming  1  be  stilled  the 
din  of  opposition  to  the  progress  of  his  cause,  and  the  shouts 
of  frantic  superstition  in  every  idolatrous  temple.  Then 
"  the  idols  he  will  utterly  abolish."  Kalee,  Vishnu,  Jugger- 
naut, your  shrines  are  doomed,  your  days  are  numbered,  your 
end  draweth  nigh.  Then  it  is  the  voice  of  him  that  crieth 
in  the  wilderness  which  we  hear  —  "Prepare  ye  the  way  of 
the  Lord,  make  straight  in  the  desert  a  highway  for  our  God. 
Every  valley  shall  be  exalted,  and  every  mountain  and  hill 
shall  be  made  low ;  and  the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight, 
and  the  rough  places  plain,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall 
be  revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together."  Islands  of 
the  sea,  ye  shall  not  wait  in  vain  for  his  law.  Africa,  there 
is  hope  in  thine  end ;  the  hands  of  all  thy  children  shall  soon 
be  stretched  out  to  God.  All  thy  myriads,  India,  shall  re- 
joice in  a  true  incarnation,  "  God  manifest  in  the  flesh." 
And,  China,  thy  only  walls  shall  be  salvation,  and  all  thy 
gates  praise.  All  for  which  the  Savior  endured  the  cross, 
despising  the  shame,  all  for  which  the  past  has  been  prepar- 
ing, and  which  the  present  is  needing  and  desiring  —  all  shall 
be  accomplished.  "  The  great  trumpet "  has  been  blown ; 
its  reverberations  of  mercy  roll  round  the  earth,  and  the 
world  shall  hear  it  and  live. 

And  are  these  our  encouragements  to  proceed?  Then 
our  course  is  obvious,  our  duty  clear.  At  the  most  dim  and 
distant  prospect  of  such  scenes  the  ancient  prophets  were 
rapt  into  an  ecstasy  of  delight.  With  encouragements  in- 
comparably less  than  we  possess,  an  apostle  was  inspired  with 
a  confidence  of  success  which  nothing  could  dismay,  and 
with  an  ardor  of  activity  which  nothing  could  quench.  For 
us  then  to  decline  the  missionary  cause,  or  to  look  coldly  on 
its  progress,  is  to  merit  the  execration  of  the  world  we  are 
neglecting,  and  of  the  church  we  are  refusing  to  assist.  But 
scripturally  to  aid  it,  is  to  place  ourselves  in  harmony  with  all 
the  purposes  of  God,  and  to  hasten  the  recovery  of  the  world 
to  Christ. 


PART  IV. 


OBJECTIONS    TO    THE    MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE,  OR 
PLEAS   AND   EXCUSES    FOR   NEGLECTING   IT. 


So  obvious  are  the  obligations  of  the  missionary  enterprise, 
and  the  encouragements  to  discharge  them  so  numerous  and 
strong,  that,  if  facts  did  not  loudly  proclaim  the  contrary,  we 
might  well  believe  it  impossible  for  a  single  objection  to  be 
raised  against  it.  We  know,  however,  that  no  degree  of 
excellence,  even  when  accredited  from  Heaven,  has  ever 
proved  sufficient  to  exempt  a  cause  entirely  from  opposition  ; 
and  that  its  success,  whether  great  or  little,  has  never  been 
owing  to  any  lack  of  difficulties  feared  by  its  professed 
friends,  or  created  by  its  avowed  foes.  Indeed,  the  loftier  its 
aims,  and  the  greater  the  spirituality  of  its  character  and 
claims,  the  more  numerous  the  obstacles  likely  to  be  cast  in 
the  way  of  its  progress.  The  missionary  cause,  then,  by 
aiming  at  the  most  unworldly  ends,  and  by  taking  the  whole 
earth  for  the  sphere  of  its  activity,  may  be  expected  to  exas- 
perate every  form  of  irreligious  hostility,  and  to  be  encoun- 
tered by  every  kind  of  objection.  And  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  the  ignorant  are  always  ready  to  accept  such  objec- 
tions, however  futile,  as*  so  many  unanswerable  arguments 
against  it ;  that  the  indolent  are  glad  to  construe  them  into  a 
full  discharge  from  all  activity  in  its  behalf;  that  the  timid 
are  for  waiting  until  they  are  all  silenced,  and  the  ground 
completely  cleared  of  difficulties;  and  that,  however  often 
they  have  been  met  already,  error  is  likely  to  revive  and 
repeat  them  again  with  the  lips  of  each  succeeding  genera- 
tion, —  it  is  by  no  means  supererogatory  or  unimportant  that 
such  objections  should  be  obviated  again ;  especially,  too, 
when  nearly  all  of  them  may  be  so  easily  converted  into  argu- 


OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.     273 

ments  for  serving   the   very   object   they   were  intended  to 
weaken  or  destroy. 

I.  Now,  if  we  propose  to  notice  these  objections  *  in  order, 
the  first,  perhaps,  which  demands  our  attention  is  that  which 
would  represent  the  missionary  enterprise  as  unnecessary. 
According  to  the  objector,  the  heathen  are  comparatively 
safe  already ;  their  ignorance  of  the  gospel  is  involuntary ; 
they  are  a  law  unto  themselves ;  they  will  not  be  judged  by 
the  high  requirements  of  the  Bible,  but  by  the  light  of  na- 
ture ;  their  eternal  destiny,  therefore,  is  far  from  hopeless ; 
and  to  pronounce  it  otherwise  is  uncharitable  and  cruel. 

To  this  representation  we  should  object,  1.  That  it  over- 
looks the  true  condition  of  mankind  in  relation  to  the  moral 
government  of  God.  It  forgets  the  momentous  truth  that 
"  all  have  sinned,"  and  are  condemned  already.  2.  It  makes 
the  salvation  of  the  heathen  a  question  of  right  and  justice. 
It  supposes  that,  by  saving  those  who  believe  the  gospel,  the 
Almighty  has  brought  himself  under  a  kind  of  obligation  to 
throw  open  the  gates  of  heaven  to  the  whole  mass  of  the 
heathen  world.  3.  And  it  virtually  constitutes  idolatrous  igno- 
rance a  better  security  for  the  future  happiness  of  mankind, 
than  is  afforded  by  the  means  of  grace  enjoyed  under  the 
gospel. 

The  question  is  not,  be  it  remarked,  whether  or  not,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  mediation  of  Christ,  the  heathen  are  in  a 
salvable  state.  This  we  not  only  joyfully  admit,  but  are  pre- 
pared, if  necessary,  earnestly  to  contend  for.  But  this  fact 
only  proves  their  present  condition  to  be  more  fearful  than  if 
no  such  salvability  existed ;  for  it  shows  they  are  the  subjects 
of  moral  government,  and  as  such  exposed  to  punishment  for 
disobedience.  Nor  is  the  question  whether  many,  but  wheth- 
er any,  of  the  heathen  are  saved.  For  we  presume  that  the 
objector  himself  does  not  suppose  that  any  large  proportion 
among  them  are  rescued  from  destruction ;  that  he  is  not 
even  prepared  to  prove  that  any  of  them  will  certainly  be 
saved.  And  where,  we  ask,  is  the  charity  of  abandoning 
them  all  to  a  vague  hope  of  deliverance  ?  or  what  is  gained 
by  the  admission  that  one  here  and  there  is  possibly  saved  ? 

*  Some  of  these  objections  are  very  ably  met  in  a  work  entitled 
"The  Missionary  Convention  at  Jerusalem;  or,  an  Exhibition  of  the 
Claims  of  the  World  to  the  Gospel.  By  the  Rev.  David  Abeel,  Mis- 
sionary to  China." 


274  OBJECTIONS   TO   THE 

This  single  ray  leaves  the  nations  sitting  in  the  darkness  of 
destruction  still.  The  true  question  is,  Are  the  heathens,  as  a 
whole,  idolatrous  and  immoral  as  they  are,  spiritually  safe? 
Every  part  of  the  word  of  God  —  the  only  authority  compe- 
tent to  reply  —  affirms  that  they  are  not. 

For,  first,  they  are  condemned  by  the  light  of  nature. 
They  will  not  be  condemned  for  the  infraction  of  a  law  of 
which  they  never  heard,  nor  for  the  rejection  of  a  Savior 
who  was  never  proclaimed  to  them.  The  ground  of  their 
condemnation  will  be,  that  they  loved  darkness  rather  than 
the  dim  light  of  reason,  conscience,  and  tradition,  which  they 
enjoyed ;  that  bad  as  their  creed  was,  their  character  was 
worse;  that  single  as  their  talent  was,  and  on  that  account 
all  the  more  precious,  they  hid  even  that  in  the  earth,  "  so 
that  they  are  without  excuse." 

Secondly,  The  word  of  God  confirms  the  sentence  of  their 
condemnation.  Although  the  heathen  of  the  present  day  are 
involuntarily  ignorant  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  never  having 
heard  of  their  existence,  yet  as  the  first  act  of  idolatrous  wor- 
ship in  every  nation  must  have  been  perpetrated  in  defiance 
of  every  thing  sacred ;  and  as  the  descendants  of  those  idol- 
aters evince  as  strong  a  dislike  to  recover  the  knowledge  of 
God  as  they  themselves  did  to  retain  it,  not  only  neglecting 
to  avail  themselves  of  "  that  which  may  be  known  of  God," 
but  entailing  their  idolatry  from  generation  to  generation  with 
accumulated  abominations ;  they  are  divinely  pronounced  to 
be  inexcusable.  The  opening  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans 
is  devoted  directly  to  the  establishment  of  this  solemn  fact. 
Having  affirmed  that  "  the  Gentiles  who  have  not  the  [re- 
vealed] law  are  a  law  unto  themselves,"  the  apostle  convicts 
them  of  the  grossest  violations  of  that  unwritten  law ;  and 
draws  the  solemn  conclusion  that  they  who  have  thus  "  sinned 
without  [the  revealed]  law  shall  also  perish  without  law." 

Nor,  thirdly,  does  the  gospel  afford  us  any  ground  to  hope 
that  the  sentence  of  their  condemnation  will  be  reversed 
through  the  mediation  of  Christ.  That  faith  in  the  mediation 
of  Christ  is  indispensable  to  the  personal  salvation  of  those 
to  whom  the  gospel  has  been  proclaimed,  will  be  generally 
admitted.  But  when  the  apostle  inquires  concerning  the 
heathen,  "  How  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom  they  have 
not  heard  1  and  how  shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher  ? " 
if  there  be  meaning  in  language,  he  obviously  intends  that  it 
is  as  impossible  for  a  heathen  to  be  saved  by  Christ  without 


MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE.  275 

believing  in  him,  as  it  is  for  him  to  hear  of  Christ  without  a 
preacher. 

But  salvation  includes  the  renewal  of  the  heart  by  the 
agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  well  as  the  remission  of  sins 
through  faith  in  Christ.  Now,  that  this  spiritual  change  is 
indispensable  to  the  salvation  of  all  to  whom  the  gospel 
comes,  and  that  the  truth  is  the  instrument  by  which  it  is 
effected,  will  also  be  generally  admitted.  But  when  we  hear 
it  divinely  declared  to  the  great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  that 
the  object  of  his  mission  was  "  to  open  their  eyes,  and  to 
turn  them  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of 
Satan  unto  God,"  what  can  we  infer,  but  that  a  spiritual 
renovation  is  essential  to  their  recovery,  and  that  the  instru- 
mentality of  the  gospel  is  essential  to  that  renovation  ?  To 
such  as  would  argue  against  these  conclusions,  from  the 
probable  salvation  of  the  offspring  of  heathen  dying  in  in- 
fancy, we  need  only  say,  You  are  arguing  from  the  case  of 
those  who  have  no  actual  sin,  to  those  who  are  covered  with 
the  guilt  of  personal  transgressions ;  from  those  who  can 
neither  sin  nor  believe,  to  those  who  have  the  capability  of 
both ;  by  a  very  slight  extension  of  your  argument,  therefore, 
you  may  proceed  to  infer  that  as  those  dying  in  infancy  are 
probably  saved  through  Christ  without  exercising  faith  in 
him,  all  are  probably  saved  by  him,  though  in  the  same  des- 
titution of  faith. 

But,  fourthly ,  we  cannot  be  adequately  impressed  with  the 
danger  of  the  heathen,  unless  we  remember  that  their  idola- 
trous condition  is  never  represented  in  Scripture  as  a  pallia- 
tion of  their  guilt,  but  as  constituting  its  vilest  element.  In 
speaking  of  its  origin,  it  is  there  traced  to  two  sources  : 
"  because  they  did  not  like  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge, 
God  gave  them  up  to  vile  affections."  Here,  a  hatred  for 
the  truth  combines  with  an  act  of  judicial  dereliction,  to 
seal  their  doom ;  for  if  the  former  adds  the  last  shade  to  their 
guilt,  the  latter  entirely  extinguishes  the  hope  of  their  deliv- 
erance. 

And  hence,  fft lily,  the  divine  punishment  of  idolatry  has 
frequently  commenced  in  the  present  life.  The  Jewish  dis- 
pensation was  one  perpetual  protest  against  it.  Whole  nations 
of  idolaters  were  exterminated  to  make  way  for  the  worship- 
pers of  the  one  living  and  true  God.  Almost  the  only  thing 
against  which  "  the  wrath  of  God  was  revealed  from  heaven" 
for  ages  was  idolatry,  and  its  immediate  fruits.     In  the  pun- 


276  OBJECTIONS   TO   THE 

ishment  of  these,  the  great  cities,  thrones,  and  nations  of  an- 
tiquity, were  involved  in  a  common  ruin. 

But,  sixthly,  if  we  have  recourse  to  the  word  of  God  for 
direct  statements  on  the  subject,  the  answer  of  the  living 
oracle  is  strictly  corroborative  of  our  worst  fears :  "  the 
whole  world,"  saith  St.  John,  "  lieth  in  wickedness."  A 
people  destitute  of  divine  revelation  are  spoken  of  as  "  having 
no  hope,  and  without  God  in  the  world."  If  we  ask  of  their 
future  state,  we  are  told  that  "  idolaters  "  are  adjudged  to  "  the 
second  death,"  and  that  the  "  nations  who  forget  God  are 
turned  into  hell."  And  how  truly  affecting  to  find  that  this 
fearful  view  receives  an  appalling  confirmation  in  the  fears 
and  distressing  convictions  of  the  converted  heathen  them- 
selves, concerning  those  of  their  relatives  who  have  died  in 
heathenism !  Strongly  predisposed  as  we  may  well  imagine 
them  to  be,  to  hope  the  best  of  their  eternal  state,  they  are 
free  to  confess  that,  taking  the  Bible  for  their  guide,  they 
can  see  no  escape  from  the  dreadful  conclusion  that  every 
impenitent  idolater  is  lost.  And  from  this  harrowing  consid- 
eration they  derive  a  strong  ground  for  upbraiding  us  that 
we  did  not  earlier  send  them  the  gospel,  and  for  an  earnest 
appeal  that  we  would  now  redeem  the  time  by  redoubling  our 
efforts  for  its  universal  diffusion.  Away,  then,  with  the  false 
philanthropy  which  indolently  and  charitably  abandons  the 
everlasting  happiness  of  millions  to  a  mere  peradventure. 
Let  ours  be  the  only  scriptural  and  consistent  charity,  which, 
while  it  fears  the  worst,  aims  at  the  best ;  and  while  it  dreads 
their  destruction,  labors  to  the  utmost  for  their  salvation.  By 
this  method,  at  least,  we  cannot  injure  them ;  by  any  other, 
we  may  be  probably  leaving  them  to  hopeless  destruction. 

II.  Another  class  of  objectors  are  inclined  to  regard  the 
missionary  enterprise  as  impracticable.  They  entertain  a 
vague  opinion,  the  grounds  and  merits  of  which  they  have 
never  examined,  that  heathenism  is  a  system  too  old  to  be 
altered,  too  deep-seated  to  be  subverted,  and  too  vast  to  be 
materially  reduced.  And  hence  they  are  apt  to  fortify  this 
objection  by  the  addition  of  another  —  that  little  or  no  good 
has  been  hitherto  accomplished  by  missionary  efforts,  and 
that  some  stations  have  been  actually  deserted  by  the  mission- 
aries, through  want  of  success,  or  the  fierceness  of  heathen 
opposition. 

Now,  we  might  justifiably  satisfy  ourselves  by  bringing  this 


MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  277 

objection  under  the  neutralizing  influence  of  the  preceding, 
and  asking,  how  the  view  that  the  heathen  are  so  good  as  to 
be  in  little  danger  of  destruction,  is  to  be  reconciled  with 
the  opposite  assumption  that  they  are  so  bad  as  to  defy  all 
means,  human  and  divine,  for  their  moral  improvement.  But 
we  do  think  it  enough  to  refer  the  objector  to  the  Second 
Part  of  this  Essay,  on  missionary  successes,  as  containing  a 
.full  reply  to  his  opinion  that  but  little  benefit  has  hitherto 
resulted  from  Christian  missions ;  and  to  the  Third  Part,  on 
missionary  encouragements,  in  answer  to  his  objection  on 
the  impractibility  of  the  work. 

As  to  any  difficulty  which  he  might  feel  arising  from  the 
occasional  reverses  and  partial  failures  of  the  missionary 
enterprise,  we  would  remind  him,  first,  that  temporary  re- 
verses are  not  peculiar  to  the  diffusion  of  the  gospel ;  that 
science  has  sustained  them,  and  yet  ultimately  triumphed ; 
that  an  Alexander  encountered  them,  and  yet  became  the 
conqueror  of  the  world ;  that  from  many  of  our  present  colo- 
nies, the  British  arms  have  more  than  once  been  beaten  off, 
and  compelled  for  a  time  to  retire,  but  have  finally  gained 
their  object ;  that  even  where  our  hopes  have  been  most  dis- 
appointed, and  are  at  this  moment  at  the  lowest  point,  our 
prospects  are  such  that,  were  our  object  military  conquest  or 
national  aggrandizement,  instead  of  Christian  usefulness,  we 
could  not  entirely  relinquish  our  attempts  without  incurring 
the  charge  of  cowardice  or  treason ;  and  on  what  principle 
are  toe  to  expect  immunity  from  similar  trials,  or  to  construe 
them  into  a  sign  of  certain  and  universal  defeat  1 

We  would  remind  him,  secondly,  that  such  reverses  are 
not  attending  the  diffusion  of  the  gospel  now  for  the  first 
time ;  that  its  plantation  in  our  own  country  was  not  the 
work  of  a  day,  nor  effected  without  the  endurance  of  perse- 
cution and  death ;  that  the  apostles  themselves  were  often 
driven  from  city  to  city,  and  that  we  have  no  right  to  expect 
exemption  from  similar  vicissitudes. 

But,  thirdly,  we  have  reason  to  believe  that,  owing  to  a 
change  of  circumstances,  the  instances  of  missionary  stations 
once  occupied,  but  now  deserted,  are  incomparably  fewer 
than  similar  reverses  were  in  primitive  times ;  that,  if  these 
few  instances  were  examined,  it  would  be  found  that  the 
majority  of  desertions  had  arisen  from  the  opposition,  not 
of  heathen,  but  of  nominally  Christian  governments;  and 
24 


278  OBJECTIONS   TO   THE 

that  such  opposition  from  this  quarter  is  gradually  ceasing 
to  exist. 

Fourthly,  we  have  to  remind  him  that  such  failures,  so  far 
from  being  final,  have  commonly  been  followed  by  the  most 
signal  successes ;  that,  as  in  primitive  times,  the  "  bonds " 
of  the  apostle  "  turned  out  rather  for  the  furtherance  of  the 
gospel,"  so,  in  the  history  of  modern  missions,  the  scene  of 
our  greatest  discouragement  and  disaster  has  often  become 
the  scene  of  our  most  grateful  triumph.  The  CafFre  tribes, 
which  formerly  came  down  on  the  missionary  community  in 
marauding  bands,  approach  it  now  only  to  invoke  the  instruc- 
tions of  a  Christian  teacher.  Where  once  the  missionary 
was  prevented  from  landing,  the  New  Zealand  chief  has 
since  been  seen  heading  hundreds  of  natives  to  honor  and 
welcome  his  arrival.  And  in  the  Sandwich,  Tahiti,  and  So- 
ciety Islands;  in  the  Hervey,  Navigators,  Friendly,  Austral, 
Paumatu,  Gambier,  Marquesan,  and  other  groups,  where 
once  the  Christian  preacher  dared  not  approach,  or  fled  with 
unconcealed  terror,  are  now  to  be  found  exemplary  Christian 
churches,  and  societies  for  sending  native  missionaries  into 
the  regions  beyond. 

Let  the  objector  remember,  next,  that  even  if  the  mission- 
ary enterprise  had  been  attended  with  no  direct  benefits 
whatever  abroad,  its  reflex  influence  on  the  state  of  piety  at 
home  has  been  most  amply  remunerative ;  so  that  even  if  the 
salvation  of  our  own  countrymen  were  our  exclusive  duty, 
we  could  not  think  of  limiting  the  gospel  to  our  native  land; 
if  we  were  at  full  liberty  to  seek  the  welfare  only  of  our  own 
people,  in  order  to  attain  that  end  in  the  shortest  time,  and 
in  the  highest  degree,  we  should  feel  bound  to  obtain  the 
reacting  influence  of  Christian  missions. 

But,  finally,  we  have  to  remind  him,  that  eminently  useful 
as  their  legitimate  reaction  has  been  on  the  state  of  religion 
at  home,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  a  greater  number  of 
conversions  has  taken  place  in  heathen  lands,  in  proportion 
to  the  amount  of  means  employed,  than  has  been  effected  in 
the  same  time  in  Christendom.  So  that,  unless  the  objector 
is  prepared  to  arrest  and  destroy  all  the  Christian  instrumen- 
tality now  in  operation  at  home  on  the  plea  of  inutility,  con- 
sistency requires  that  he  should  advocate  the  continuance 
and  encouragement  of  the  same  instrumentality  on  the  ground 
of  its  usefulness  abroad. 


MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  279 

III.  Having  yielded  to  the  preceding  reasons,  the  objector 
may  allege,  further,  that  "  If  the  conversion  of  the  heathen 
must  needs  be  attempted,  philosophy  and  learning  must,  in 
the  nature  of  things,  take  the  precedence.  Indeed,  it  should 
seem  hardly  less  absurd  to  make  revelation  precede  civiliza- 
tion in  the  order  of  time,  than  to  pretend  to  unfold  to  a  child 
the  Principia  of  Newton,  before  he  is  made  acquainted  with 
the  letters  of  the  alphabet."  This,  be  it  remarked,  is  not  an 
objection  imagined  for  the  occasion,  but  the  veritable  lan- 
guage of  one  who  was  literally  applauded  by  thousands  for 
uttering  it,  and  whose  words  doubtless  echoed  the  thoughts 
of  thousands  more.  Indeed,  at  the  commencement  of  mod- 
ern missions,  the  opinion  very  generally  prevailed  among  the 
friends  of  missions  themselves,  that,  in  barbarous  lands,  civ- 
ilization must  pioneer  the  way  for  Christianity,  but,  on  this 
important  condition,  that  the  Christian  missionary  himself 
should  be  the  pioneer ;  while  the  class  of  objectors  in  ques- 
tion would  have  him  to  remain  at  home  till  his  way  is  pre- 
pared by  philosophy  and  science. 

1.  Now,  conceding  to  the  objector  the  credit  of  being 
himself  a  philosopher,  we  might  begin  our  remarks  by  inquir- 
ing, Do  you  not  know  that  philosophy  has  not  yet  decided 
whether  the  most  perfect  state  of  man  be  not  the  least  civil- 
ized 1  And  lest  you  should  suppose  that  such  a  question 
was  peculiar  only  to  the  dreaming  school  of  Rousseau,  we 
have  further  to  remind  you  that  travellers  and  historians  are 
still  found  describing  the  life  of  the  savage  with  so  much 
rapture  as  to  compel  the  belief  that  they  would  fain  propose 
it  as  a  model  to  the  rest  of  the  species ;  and  so  copiously 
applying  to  that  state  the  epithets  "  simple,"  "  virtuous," 
and  "  happy,"  as  to  awaken  the  inquiry,  whether  it  would 
not  be  wiser  to  employ  missionaries  for  restoring  the  civil- 
ized to  barbarism,  rather  than  for  raising  the  barbarous  to 
civilization. 

2.  We  will  suppose,  however,  that  all  men  pretending  to 
philosophy  have  arrived  at  the  philanthropic  conclusion  that 
the  savage  tribes  of  the  earth  should,  if  practicable,  be  civil- 
ized. But  here  we  have  next  to  ask  the  objector,  Are  you 
not  aware  that  the  almost  unanimous  conclusion  to  which 
your  order  has  arrived  is,  that  those  tribes  are  utterly  irre- 
claimable? Nearly  two  centuries  elapsed,  for  instance,  after 
the  discovery  of  America,  before  its  inhabitants  attracted  the 
attention  of  philosophers.     And  when  they  did,  it  was  only 


280  OBJECTIONS   TO   THE 

to  be  described  by  one  as  "  a  race  just  called  into  existence, 
and  still  at  the  beginning  of  their  career;"  *  and,  by  another, 
as  "  animals  of  inferior  order,  incapable  of  acquiring  reli- 
gious knowledge,  or  of  being  trained  to  the  functions  of 
social  life."  t  And  do  you  not  know  that  this  representation 
of  the  natural  inferiority  of  uncivilized  man  became  so  prev- 
alent in  the  class  of  philosophic  writings  referred  to,  that  had 
the  writers  been  constituted  a  committee  on  the  subject,  they 
could  not  have  "  brought  up  "  a  more  consistent  report  1  Do 
you  not  know  that  the  consequent  belief  of  this  inferiority 
became  so  popular,  that  the  public  mind  is  yet  far  from 
being  disabused  of  it  ?  but  that,  as  far  as  it  has  been  dis- 
abused, Christian  missionaries  have  been  mainly  instrumental 
in  dislodging  the  error  by  developing  the  intellectual  and 
moral  capacities  of  the  traduced  aborigines,  through  the  me- 
dium of  religion  ? 

3.  Now,  it  must  be  allowed  that  to  report  a  people  irrecov- 
erably brutish,  is  a  strange  and  ominous  commencement  of 
their  civilization.  For,  "  having  classed  their  fellow-crea- 
tures among  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest,  these  claimants  to 
the  exclusive  title  of  human  beings  are  likely  to  find  little 
difficulty  in  defending,  at  least  to  their  own  satisfaction,  what- 
ever measures  may  be  necessary  for  the  subjugation  or  de- 
struction of  the  common  enemy."  J  Accordingly,  we  have 
next  to  remind  the  objector,  that,  with  singular  unanimity, 
they  have  decreed  that  untutored  man  must  be  destroyed. 
Yes,  the  very  men  who  would  scout  the  idea  of  the  Christian 
missionary  attempting  to  benefit  the  savage  before  they  have 
visited  him  with  their  grand  specific  of  civilization,  have  yet 
banded  together,  in  effect,  for  his  destruction.  "  Nothing 
but  powder  and  ball,"  said  a  European  officer,  "  can  civilize 
these  savages."  The  tribes  to  which  he  referred,  have  since 
been  both  civilized  and  evangelized,  by  the  divine  blessing 
on  missionary  endeavors.  "  Do  you  think  it  possible,"  said 
Sir  Rufane  Shaw  Donkin  to  Doctor  Philip,  in  the  Committee 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  "  to  prevent  enlightened  Eu- 
ropeans, who  settle  in  a  country,  from  ultimately  extermi- 
nating the  unenlightened  inhabitants?  "  from  which  we  must 
infer  that  the  certainty  of  the  destruction  of  a  barbarous  tribe 


*  M.  de  Buffon,  Hist.  Nat.  iii.  484,  &c. ;  ix.  114. 

t  M.  de  P.  Recherches  Philos.  sur  les  Americ.  passim. 

X  Lord  Glenelg's  Despatch  to  Governor  Sir  B.  D'Urban. 


MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  281 

is  in  exact  proportion  to  the  advanced  enlightenment  of  the 
colonists. 

In  a  proclamation  issued  by  Sir  B.  D'Urban,  the  Caffres 
are  denounced  as  "  irreclaimable  savages;"  and  this  in  the 
very  face  of  the  fact,  as  stated  in  the  despatch  of  Lord  Glen- 
elg,  that  "  under  the  guidance  of  their  Christian  ministers 
they  have  built  places  of  public  worship;  have  erected  school- 
houses,  and  sent  their  children  thither  for  instruction  ;  have 
made  no  inconsiderable  advance  in  agriculture  and  in  com- 
merce ;  have  established  a  trade  amounting  to  not  less  than 
<£30,000  per  annum  in  the  purchase  of  European  commod- 
ities ;  and  when  as  many  as  two  hundred  British  traders  were 
living  far  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the  colony,  protected 
only  by  the  integrity  and  humanity  of  the  uncivilized  natives." 
And  yet  it  is  of  this  same  people  that  we  read  in  a  volume 
just  issued  from  the  press,  that  "  it  furnishes  matter  of  amaze- 
ment to  every  thinking  person,  how  those  who  have  legislated 
for  the  affairs  of  the  colony  should  not  long  ago  have  seen  the 
imperious  necessity,  dictated  alike  by  reason,  justice,  and 
humanity,  of  exterminating  from  off  the  face  of  the  earth  such 
a  race  of  monsters."  *  "  The  uncivilized  must  give  way  to 
the  civilized,"  says  the  editor  of  the  journal  of  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society,  "  and  better  sooner  than  late."  f  But, 
for  the  full  exposition  of  this  exterminating  philosophy,  we 
must  refer  to  the  following  passage  in  Sir  John  Ross's  Sec- 
ond Voyage  to  the  Arctic  Regions :  "  Our  brandy  was  as 
odious  as  our  pudding  to  our  Esquimaux  visitors,  and  they 
have  yet  therefore  to  acquire  the  taste  which  has,  in  ruining 
the  morals,  hastened  the  extermination,  of  their  American 
neighbors  to  the  southward.  If,  however,  these  tribes  must 
finally  disappear,  as  seems  their  fate,  it  is  at  least  better  that 
they  should  die  gradually  by  the  force  of  rum,  than  that  they 
should  be  exterminated  in  masses  by  the  fire  and  sword  of 
the  Spanish  conquest,  since  there  is  some  pleasure,  such  as 
it  is,  in  the  mean  time,  while  there  is  also  a  voluntary  but 
slow  suicide  in  exchange  for  murder  and  robbery.  Is  it  not 
the  fate  of  the  savage  and  the  uncivilized  on  this  earth  to 
give  way  to  the  more  cunning  and  the  better  informed,  to 
knowledge  and  civilization?     It  is  the  order  of  the  world, 


*  Narrative   of  an  Expedition  into  Southern  Africa,  &c.,  by  Cap- 
tain W.  C.  Harris. 

t  Vol.  v.  pt.  ii.  1835,  p.  315. 

24* 


282  OBJECTIONS   TO   THE 

and  the  right  one ;  nor  will  all  the  lamentations  of  a  mawkish 
philanthropy,  with  its  more  absurd  or  censurable  efforts,  avail 
one  jot  against  an  order  of  things  as  wise  as  it  is  assuredly 
established."  * 

4.  But  next,  we  have  to  remind  the  objector  that  those 
who  should  have  been  the  advocates  and  agents  of  civiliza- 
tion, having  concluded,  to  their  own  satisfaction,  that  the 
uncivilized  must  be  destroyed,  have  destroyed  them  ac- 
cordingly. "  An  uncivilized  people,"  says  Niebuhr,  "  has 
never  derived  benefit  from  contact  with  a  civilized  race." 
So  uniformly  has  the  extirpation  of  the  former  followed  the 
arrival  of  the  latter,  that,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding 
paragraph,  a  theory  has  been  formed  to  account  for  and 
justify  the  wide-spreading  calamity.  Man  has  impiously  ap- 
pealed to  the  purposes  of  God  in  vindication  of  his  own 
atrocities.  The  ordination  of  Divine  Providence  —  a  Provi- 
dence ever  just  and  kind  —  has  been  represented  as  obtaining 
its  fulfilment  in  the  erection  of  an  altar  to  Moloch,  at  which 
millions  of  human  victims  have  bled.  And  here,  let  it  be 
observed,  we  are  not  speaking  of  days  long  gone  by  —  of  the 
Red  Cross  Knights  of  Mexican  and  Peruvian  butcheries  — 
but  of  the  deeds  of  to-day ;  of  the  last  new  creed  of  philoso- 
phy on  the  subject  of  civilization ;  of  the  principle  just 
evolved  by  the  spirit  of  the  times  from  an  induction  of  mul- 
tiplied facts,  as  the  only  principle  to  be  relied  on  and  im- 
bodied  in  practice  ;  —  and  this  is  it — the  uncivilized  world 
must  be  blotted  out. 

5.  Next,  we  have  to  show  the  objector,  that  where  the 
civilization  which  has  hitherto  attended  the  progress  of  our 
arms,  commerce,  and  colonization,  has  not  exterminated  a 
people,  so  far  from  preparing  them  for  the  reception  of  Chris- 
tianity, it  has  proved  the  greatest  obstacle  to  its  introduction. 
And  how  could  it  be  otherwise  ?  For  what  have  the  means 
of  such  civilization  been,  but  the  overflowing  of  our  national 
depravity,  and  the  exercise  of  injustice  and  oppression? 
Philosophy  has  prepared  the  way  for  the  demons  of  avarice, 
cruelty,  and  licentiousness,  by  proclaiming  the  hopeless  bru- 
talization  of  savage  tribes.  A  civilized  legislation  has  trans- 
ferred whole  regions  to  colonists  —  transferred  those  regions 
from  under  the  feet  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  without 
rendering  them  an  atom  of  compensation.     A  legalized  com- 

*  Narrative,  &c.  vol.  i.  p.  257. 


MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE.  283 

merce  has  for  ages  devoted  one  quarter  of  the  globe  to  a 
market  for  human  flesh.  And,  in  its  considerate  regard  for 
the  welfare  of  the  native  tribes,  one  of  the  first  buildings 
which  a  Christian  government  has  erected  in  some  of  its 
colonies  has  been  a  jail  for  the  reception  of  the  supera- 
bundant depravity  of  home  ;  and  one  of  the  first  colonies  which 
it  has  planted  has  been  a  colony  of  convicts.  About  two 
thousand  runaway  sailors  and  convicts  are  at  large  in  New 
Zealand  and  the  adjacent  islands  alone,  carrying  demorali- 
zation and  ruin  wherever  they  come.  And  again  philosophy 
steps  in  with  her  timely  aid ;  and,  lest  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion should  proceed  too  slowly,  announces  the  crowning  and 
seasonable  discovery,  that  such  destruction  is  perfectly  in 
harmony  with  the  plans  of  Heaven. 

Are  we  to  wonder  that,  influenced  by  such  examples,  and  in 
obedience  to  such  doctrines,  the  civilized  savage  should  have 
degraded  the  uncivilized  savage  from  a  brute  into  a  demon, 
making  him  twofold  more  the  child  of  hell  than  before ;  that 
he  should  have  introduced  among  the  natives  European 
vices,  violently  seized  their  women,  taught  the  horrid  traffic 
of  licentiousness,  and  introduced  a  train  of  new  diseases  and 
frightful  evils  too  revolting  to  meet  the  public  eye  ?  *  that  he 
should  have  forcibly  seized  their  lands,  plentifully  supplied 
them  with  ardent  spirits,  excited  quarrels  among  the  different 
tribes,  and  then  furnished  them  with  arms  for  the  purpose  of 
mutual  destruction?  and  that  the  direct  effect  of  all  this 
should  be  to  prevent  the  progress  of  education  and  religion  1  f 
Are  we  to  wonder  that  the  only  question  of  colonial  policy 
with  many  of  the  colonists  themselves  has  come  to  be  simply 
this,  whether  the  natives  should  be  destroyed  slowly  or 
speedily  —  by  the  gun,  or  by  drunkenness  and  disease  ?  Are 
we  to  be  surprised  at  finding  that  they  themselves  have  come 
to  stand  in  much  greater  need  of  the  restraints  of  law  than 
even  the  natives ;  that  while  these  only  need  the  Christian 
missionary,  those  require  both  the  missionary  and  "  the  super- 
vision of  an  efficient  police  "1\  or  that  a  society  should 
have  at  length  arisen  for  the  protection  of  those  aboriginal 
victims  of  civilization  1     Are  we  to  wonder  that  one  mission- 

*  So  revolting,  that,  in  the  "  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines, "  it  is 
necessarily  omitted.     See  pp.  20,  23. 
t  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  passim. 
X  Idem,  p.  63. 


284  OBJECTIONS    TO    THE 

ary  should  be  heard  deprecating  the  influence  of  such  civil- 
ization on  the  natives?  that  another  should  declare,  "  I  had 
ten  times  rather  meet  them  in  their  savage  state  than  after 
they  have  had  intercourse  with  Europeans ; "  and  that  all 
should  unite  in  deploring  the  effect  of  such  intercourse,  as 
amongst  the  greatest  obstacles  to  success  which  they  are 
called  to  encounter  ?  *  And  can  we  be  ^astonished  to  find  the 
prejudiced,  injured,  and  demoralized  native  turning  away, 
and  spurning  the  cup  of  salvation,  because  it  is  proffered  to 
him  by  a  Christian  hand  1 

6.  Advancing  a  step  farther,  we  would  show  the  objector, 
next,  that  instead  of  civilization  being  necessary  to  prepare 
the  way  for  Christianity,  Christianity  is  indispensable  to  a 
true  civilization.  When  we  speak  of  a  true  civilization,  we 
mean  to  imply  that  a  spurious  and  superficial  state  of  social 
advancement  —  in  which  houses  are  built  instead  of  wigwams, 
the  clothing  of  the  loins  extended  over  the  body,  and  the 
work  of  conquest  and  human  butchery  is  conducted  scien- 
tifically —  may  obtain  independently  of  religion.  But  if  by 
civilization  we  understand  a  state  in  which  the  rights  of  men 
are  respected,  and  the  proprieties  and  charities  of  life  are 
cultivated,  we  are  prepared  to  show  that  it  has  never  been 
found  but  as  the  inseparable  companion  and  effect  of  divine 
Christianity.  For,  first,  admitting  that  barbarous  tribes  could 
be  reclaimed  without  the  intervention  of  Christian  missiona- 
ries, "  the  mere  civilizing  plan  does  not  furnish  motives  strong 
enough  to  induce  men  to  give  up  the  comforts  of  home 
merely  to  teach  them  civilization."  Hence,  when  Dr.  Coke, 
about  forty  years  ago,  was  induced  to  form  a  plan  for  civiliz- 
ing the  Foulahs  of  Western  Africa,  preparatory  to  the  intro- 
duction of  the  gospel,  —  a  plan  patronized  by  Mr.  Wilberforce 
and  other  leading  men  of  the  day,  —  it  failed  entirely,  "  and 
failed  for  this  very  reason,  that  the  agents  [mechanics]  en- 
gaged to  carry  the  scheme  into  effect  did  not  find  sufficient 
motives  to  induce  them  to  persevere.  On  reaching  Sierra 
Leone,  their  courage  failed  them."  But  Christianity  could 
find  agents  for  that  very  sphere  —  has  found  them  ;  and  the 
result  is,  that  religion  and  civilization  are  advancing  among 
the  Foulahs  hand  in  hand.t 

Nor,  secondly,  does  civilization  furnish  motives  sufficiently 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  pp.  27,  173,  277. 
t  Idem,  pp.  124,  125,  129,  338. 


MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  285 

powerful  to  induce  the  heathen  to  be  taught.  "  The  fruit 
ripens,"  they  say,  "  and  the  pigs  get  fat  while  we  are  asleep, 
and  that  is  all  we  want ;  why,  therefore,  should  we  work  1 " 
In  vain  did  the  governor  of  Upper  Canada  repeat  his  attempts 
to  induce  the  Chippeways  to  renounce  their  wandering  life, 
and  to  attend  to  civilized  pursuits.  "  Who  knows,55  said 
they,  "  but  the  Munedoos  (gods)  would  be  angry  with  us  for 
abandoning  our  own  ways ; 55  and  the  homes  which  he  had 
kindly  built  for  them  remained  unoccupied  —  monuments  of 
the  impotence  of  civilization  without  religion.  The  apparent 
tameness  of  civilized  life  possesses  no  attractions  sufficiently 
strong  to  induce  the  barbarian  to  abandon  his  roving  habits, 
and  to  encounter  the  anger  of  his  gods,  for  its  sake.  Such 
is  the  explanation  of  the  fact  furnished  by  the  barbarian 
himself,  when  reclaimed  by  the  influence  of  the  gospel.  And 
consequently,  so  uniform  and  complete  has  been  the  failure 
of  the  mere  civilizing  plan,  that  many  intelligent  Americans 
have  been  led  to  adopt  the  conclusion  that  the  aborigines  are 
utterly  incapable  of  being  reclaimed,  and  must  be  banished 
from  the  neighborhood  of  the  white  population.* 

But  thirdly,  if  these  difficulties  were  surmounted,  the  civil- 
ization of  the  heathen  would  not  predispose  them  to  the 
reception  of  the  gospel.  That  part  of  our  nature  which  re- 
ligion especially  addresses  would  still  be  left  unimproved. 
And  hence  India  and  China  are  not  found  to  receive  the  gos- 
pel the  more  readily  for  the  fact  that  they  have  been  for  ages 
in  a  state  of  semi-civilization.  The  plan  which  the  Society 
of  Friends  adopted  in  their  early  intercourse  with  the  Indians 
was,  to  attempt  civilization  first.  This  plan  they  have  stead- 
ily pursued  for  years,  for  ages,  at  a  considerable  annual  ex- 
pense. And  what  is  the  result  of  this  long  and  costly  exper- 
iment ?  "  Within  the  last  few  years,55  says  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  for  conducting  it,  "  we  have  had  occa- 
sion to  review  the  whole  course  of  proceedings,  and  we  have 
come  to  the  conclusion,  from  a  deliberate  view  of  the  past, 
that  we  erred,  sorrowfully  erred,  in  the  plan  which  was  origi- 
nally adopted  in  making  civilization  the  first  object ;  for  we 
cannot  count  on  a  single  individual  that  we  have  brought  to 
the  full  adoption  of  Christianity.55 1 

And,  then,  fourthly,  while  we  are  not  aware  of  a  single 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  pp.  126,  127,  142,  143,  154,  178, 
294,  337. 

t  Idem,  p.  187—197. 


286  OBJECTIONS   TO   THE 

instance  in  which  civilization  has  prepared  the  way  for  Chris- 
tianity, facts  innumerable  might  be  added  to  those  already 
adduced,  to  show  that  it  has  had  a  contrary  effect.  Why  is 
it  that  the  most  savage  tribes  are  more  easily  brought  under 
the  influence  of  the  gospel,  than  the  partially-civilized  nations 
of  China  and  India?  Which  of  the  Indian  nations  offered 
the  most  obdurate  resistance  to  the  gospel,  but  the  Mohawks 
of  Upper  Canada,  who,  through  the  kindness  of  his  majesty, 
had  enjoyed  the  educational  and  civilizing  process  for  forty 
years?  Their  proverbial  abandonment  to  vice  was  often 
urged  by  their  ignorant  heathen  neighbors  as  an  objection 
against  the  Christian  religion  itself.  *  And  the  reason  why 
the  influence  of  civilization  is  thus  unfriendly  to  religion  is 
obvious.  "  Man,"  says  an  eloquent  writer,  "  may  master  na- 
ture to  become  in  turn  its  slave.  Civilization,  so  far  from 
being  able  of  itself  to  give  moral  strength  and  elevation, 
includes  causes  of  degradation,  which  nothing  but  the  reli- 
gious principle  can  withstand."  It  multiplies  the  desires 
and  passions  of  the  heart,  without  any  increase  of  power  to 
the  regulating  principles ;  and  thus  only  adds  to  the  length 
of  the  lever  by  which  vice  subverts  both  our  moral  constitu- 
tion and  the  fabric  of  society.  "  Reason  and  experience  forbid 
us  to  expect,"  said  Washington,  on  resigning  the  presidency 
in  1796,  "  that  morality  or  political  prosperity  can  prevail  in 
exclusion  of  religious  principles."  And  in  1802,  the  French 
republic  were  constrained  to  confess,  "  For  want  of  a  religious 
education  for  the  last  ten  years,  our  children  are  without  any 
idea  of  a  Divinity,  without  any  notion  of  what  is  just  or  un- 
just :  hence  arise  barbarous  manners,  hence  a  people  become 
ferocious." 

7.  We  have  to  show  the  objector,  further,  that  wherever 
Christianity  and  civilization  have  presented  themselves  before 
a  heathen  tribe  in  company,  the  former  has  been  invariably 
embraced  before  the  latter.  Now,  this  fact,  we  should  sup- 
pose, ought  to  be  conclusive.  The  plan  of  missionary  pro- 
ceeding which  wisdom  and  experience  sanction  is,  not  to  act 
as  if  a  savage  tribe  would  be  civilized  by  merely  preaching 
to  them  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  —  this  would  be  only  the 
opposite  error  of  those  who  imagine  that  rude  people  may  be 
civilized  without  the  influence  of  religion,  —  but  to  act  on  the 
principle  that,  while  Christianity  alone  can  excite  in  them  a 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  pp.  133,  134. 


MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE.  287 

desire  for  improvement,  nothing  should  be  omitted  of  a  civ- 
ilizing nature  likely  to  subserve  that  desire.  For  from  the 
moment  that  the  Christian  principle  begins  to  operate  upon 
the  mind  of  man,  from  that  moment  the  wants  and  cravings 
of  civilization  begin  and  advance.  And  we  repeat,  that 
wherever,  in  harmony  with  these  views,  Christianity  and 
civilization  have  thus  labored  among  a  barbarous  people  con- 
jointly, the  former  has  been  invariably  embraced  first.  Fif- 
teen years  of  effort  were  made  by  the  missionaries  in  the  South 
Sea  Islands  to  introduce  the  arts  of  civilized  life  with  instruc- 
tion in  the  truths  of  the  Christian  religion  —  but  apparently 
in  vain.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  Christianity  was  adopted 
by  the  people,  and  from  that  moment  their  civilization  com- 
menced.* Another  fifteen  years  of  missionary  effort  were 
occupied  in  New  Zealand  in  a  similar  manner,  and  apparently 
without  effect ;  but  the  "  very  moment  that  Christianity  estab- 
lished itself  in  only  one  instance  in  the  island,  from  that 
moment  civilization  commenced,  and  has  been  going  on  hand 
in  hand  with  Christianity,  but  never  preceded  it."t 

8.  And,  finally,  let  the  objector  know,  that  wherever 
Christianity  has  gained  a  footing,  civilization  has  invariably 
followed.  The  first  house  which  the  barbarian  builds  is 
commonly  a  house  of  God.  In  vain  did  government  erect 
habitations  for  the  Chippeways  in  order  to  allure  them  to  the 
habits  of  civilized  life ;  but  no  sooner  did  the  gospel  affect 
them  than  they  applied  to  the  governor  for  that  very  aid 
which  they  had  before  rejected :  this  was  afforded,  and  they 
settled  on  the  River  Credit.  In  vain  were  the  influences  of 
civilization  showered  on  the  Mohawks ;  the  only  effect  was 
increased  demoralization.  But  no  sooner  did  they  begin  to 
embrace  the  Christian  faith,  than  "  each  appeared  to  vie  with 
the  rest  which  should  give  the  strongest  proofs  of  industrious 
habits."  J  The  same  mere  civilizing  process  has  been  tried 
on  the  Wyandot  Indians  and  the  Cherokees,  and  with  the 
same  comparative  failure ;  but  "  the  missionary  has  marched 
up  to  the  savage  heart,  adapted  his  mode  of  instruction  to 
the  condition  of  the  Indian,  and  his  conversion  to  Christianity 
has  followed.  This  accomplished,  he  has  been  easily  brought 
by  gentle  steps  to  walk  in  the  path  of  civilization."  §  Evi- 
dence to  the  same  effect  might  easily  be  adduced  from  the 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  pp.  176,  177. 
i  Idem,  p.  250.  t  Idem,  p!  142.  §  Idem,  pp.  146—153. 


288  OBJECTIONS   TO   THE 

history  of  Christian  missions  among  the  West  Indian  negroes, 
the  remains  of  the  Carib  race,  the  various  tribes  of  West 
and  Southern  Africa,  the  Hindoos  of  India,  the  Budhists  of 
Ceylon,  the  cannibals  of  New  Zealand,  and  the  other  island- 
ers of  the  South  Sea.  *  The  missions  of  every  denomination 
of  Protestants,  says  Bannister  in  his  "  British  Colonization" 
—  those  of  the  Church  of  England,  the  Moravians,  the  Inde- 
pendents, the  Baptists,  the  Wesleyans,  the  Scottish  —  all 
present  animated  spectacles  of  workshops,  farms,  and  school- 
houses  thickening  around  their  churches  and  chapels ;  and 
the  occupations  of  merely  civilized  men,  carried  on  with 
vigor  and  success,  hand  in  hand  with  Christian  duties,  by 
tens  of  thousands  whose  fathers,  and  often  themselves,  were 
lately  naked  and  houseless,  and  possessionless  barbarians,  t 
While  they  are  under  the  influence  of  their  superstitions,  they 
evince  an  inanity  and  torpor,  from  which  no  stimulus  has 
proved  powerful  enough  to  arouse  them,  but  the  new  ideas 
and  principles  imparted  by  Christianity.  And  if  facts  can 
convince  —  if  the  question  is  to  be  decided  by  evidence  — 
the  objector  is  bound  to  receive  it  as  an  adjudged  case,  that 
the  missionary  enterprise  is  incomparably  the  most  effective 
machinery  that  has  ever  been  brought  to  operate  on  the 
social  and  civil,  as  well  as  on  the  moral  and  spiritual  inter- 
ests of  mankind.  J 

IV.  Convinced  that  Christianity  is  the  great  agent  of  civ- 
ilization, an  objector  may  yet  allege  in  excuse  for  not  assist- 
ing to  send  it  abroad,  that  we  have  heathen  enough  at  home ; 
that  charity  begins  at  home,  and  that  we  must  evangelize 
home  first.  These  are  pleas,  which,  by  wearing  the  appear- 
ance of  a  pious  patriotism,  often  beguile  the  sympathies  of 
the  unreflecting,  and  tend  to  foster  a  spirit  of  indolence  in 
the  cause  of  God,  whose  exposure  should  be  its  utter  condem- 
nation. Let  us  first  endeavor  to  exhibit  their  hollowness,'and 
then  specify  certain  principles  by  which  they  are  to  be  met, 
and  the  truth  defended. 

"  We  have  heathen  of  our  own  at  home,"  you  say,  by 
which  we  are  to  suppose  that  you  intend  persons  who  are 
very  ignorant  and  very  vicious.  But  if  such  persons  are 
existing  around  you  in   any  considerable  number,  does  not 

*  Evidence  on  the  Aborigines,  pp.  132,  166,  174,  250. 
t  Idem,  p.  174.  *  Williams,  M.  E. 


I 


MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  289 

the  fact  implicate  you  in  the  tremendous  guilt  of  having 
neglected  them?  And  will  you  plead  that  which  results 
from  your  own  sinful  omission  of  duty  towards  those  thou- 
sands, as  an  excuse  for  neglecting  a  similar  duty  towards  as 
many  millions?  But  in  extenuation  of  your  conduct  towards 
your  irreligious  neighbors,  you  probably  plead  that  they  have 
been  far  from  entirely  neglected  ;  that  the  knowledge  and 
means  of  religion  have  been  within  their  reach  from  infancy 
From  which  we  learn,  on  your  own  admission,  that  they 
are  ignorant,  not  by  necessity,  but  choice  —  self-constituted 
heathen  men,  who  deliberately  prefer  practical  atheism  to 
Christianity.  And  we  ask,  Is  the  world  to  be  kept  in  igno- 
rance —  are  the  millions  abroad  to  be  left  to  perish  —  because 
there  are  those  at  home  who  "  hate  instruction,"  and  "  love 
darkness  rather  than  light"  ?  Such  a  sentiment  you  profess 
to  repudiate ;  but  while  you  theoretically  admit  the  heathen 
to  a  share  in  your  sympathies,  you  still  contend  that  — 

"  Charity  begins  at  home."  To  which  it  should  be  suffi- 
cient to  reply,  that  this  is  a  saying  which,  so  far  from  sub- 
serving an  objector  to  the  missionary  enterprise,  tells  directly 
against  him  ;  for  it  obviously  implies  that  charity  is  diffu- 
sive, and,  instead  of  remaining  at  home,  only  begins  at  home. 
There  is  but  one  way,  then,  in  which  this  proverb  can  avail 
you,  and  that  is  by  implying  that  there  has  not  yet  been  suffi- 
cient time  for  charity  to  begin  her  domestic  duties ;  in  answer 
to  which  we  will  only  suggest  the  inquiry,  if  upwards  of  a 
thousand  years  form  too  short  a  period  for  the  mere  work  of 
preparatory  benevolence  at  home,  how  many  thousands  are 
likely  to  elapse  before  the  ends  of  the  earth  will  be  blessed 
with  the  gospel  ? 

For  your  third  proposition,  that  "  we  must  evangelize  home 
first,"  implies,  not  only  the  order  of  benevolent  operation,  but 
also  the  high  degree  of  success  which  must  attend  it  before 
you  could  think  of  aiding  Christian  missions.  But  for  such 
a  requisition  we  are  surely  justified  in  expecting  that  you  can 
plead  the  most  substantial  warrant  both  from  Scripture  and 
experience.  You  should  be  able  to  show,  for  instance,  that 
the  apostles  made  the  evangelization  of  Judea  the  condition 
of  their  attempting  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles,  and  that, 
as  they  failed  of  entire  success  at  home,  they  never  proceeded 
abroad.  And  you  should  be  prepared  to  prove,  in  addition, 
that  this  course  has  been  uniformly  sanctioned  by  the  divine 
blessing  wherever  it  has  been  followed  ;  so  that  to  confine 
25 


290  OBJECTIONS   TO   THE 

our  Christian  activity  to  the  limits  of  home,  is  the  true  secret 
of  real  prosperity.  Now,  surely  you  need  not  to  be  reminded 
that  almost  the  only  particular  in  which  the  apostles  incurred 
the  public  rebuke  of  Providence,  was  for*  indulging  the  very 
disposition  which  you  exhibit  —  for  confining  to  their  own 
country  labors  which  were  meant  for  the  world ;  that  you  owe 
it  to  the  violation  of  that  rule  which  you  hold  so  sacred,  that 
you  yourself,  and  all  your  countrymen,  are  not  living  in  hea- 
thenism ;  and  that  when  the  apostles  came  to  understand  their 
duty,  they  no  sooner  encountered  rejection  from  the  Jews  in 
any  of  the  cities  and  regions  they  visited,  than  they  forthwith 
"  turned  to  the  Gentiles."  And  as  to  the  conclusion  deri- 
vable from  experience  on  the  subject,  we  would  merely  sug- 
gest the  inquiry,  whether  it  is  not  high  time  to  suspect  the 
wisdom  of  a  plan  whose  practical  operation  and  proposed 
result  never  promise  to  approach  each  other. 

The  following  principles,  we  think,  require  but  a  very 
slight  effort  of  attention,  and  of  application  to  the  subject,  in 
order  to  show  you  that  your  objection  is  utterly  untenable. 
The  Jirst  of  these  principles  is,  that  as  the  gospel  is  designed 
for  every  creature,  we  are  bound  to  attempt  its  universal 
diffusion.  This  obligation  arises  partly  out  of  our  community 
of  nature  and  interest — a  relationship  by  which  the  entire 
race,  instead  of  consisting  of  a  multitude  of  detached  and 
isolated  individuals,  is  formed  into  a  family  so  closely  united 
by  reciprocal  ties,  that  the  well-being  of  each  is  connected 
with  the  good  of  all.  To  complete  the  obligation,  however, 
the  will  of  Christ  has  made  it  authoritative  and  divine.  Do 
you  ask  where  and  how  he  has  expressed  that  will  ?  Not 
merely  by  commands  to  be  found  in  almost  every  page  of  his 
gospel,  and  which  require  us  to  "  do  good  unto  all  men." 
Not  merely  by  the  authority  of  his  own  example  in  "  taking 
away  the  sin  of  the  world."  But  also  by  the  diffusive  nature 
of  the  gospel  itself,  by  which  it  no  sooner  takes  effect  on  an 
individual  than  he  feels  himself  impelled  to  proclaim  its  vir- 
tues to  others,  and  to  urge  its  acceptance.  And  still  more, 
if  possible,  by  the  divine  constitution  of  the  Christian  church; 
by  which,  as  we  have  shown  at  large  in  the  First  Part,  having 
composed  it  of  such  as  have  themselves  found  mercy,  he 
requires  them  to  act  as  a  body  organized  and  appointed  for 
the"  recovery  of  others. 

But  while  every  Christian  is  thus  bound  to  aim  at  the  wel- 
fare of  the  entire  race,  a  second  principle  is,  that  there  is  an 


MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE.  291 

order  in  which  his  benevolent  efforts  are  to  be  made.  This 
law  of  succession  is  the  order  of  nature,  by  which  those  who 
are  most  nearly  related  to  us  have  the  first  and  strongest 
claims  on  us  ;  the  order  of  Providence,  by  which  we  are 
enabled  to  administer  the  means  of  salvation  to  those  who 
are  placed  near  to  us  earlier,  and  at  less  expense,  and  in 
greater  variety  and  abundance,  than  we  can  to  those  who 
are  more  remote  from  us;  the  order  of  Scripture  example, 
in  which  we  see  the  apostles  uniformly  preaching  first, 
wherever  they  went,  to  those  of  their  own  nation ;  and  also 
the  order  of  the  future  judgment,  according  to  which  no  plea 
of  attempting  good  at  a  distance  will  be  admitted  as  an 
answer  to  the  charge,  "  I  was  a  stranger  and  ye  took  me  not 
in."  But  in  saying  all  this,  we  may  appear  to  be  only  repeat- 
ing the  sentiments  of  the  objector.  So  far  from  this,  how- 
ever, we  are  insisting  on  a  very  different  subject,  and  one 
which,  by  implication,  refutes  his  objection.  For  while  we 
are  only  showing  the  order  in  which  we  are  to  work  from  the 
centre  of  our  own  circle  outwards,  he  is  contending  for  the 
time  we  are  to  remain  in  that  circle,  and  the  amount  of 
good  we  are  to  accomplish  there,  before  we  attempt  any  thing 
beyond  it,  and  is  thus  practically  denying  any  order  of  use- 
fulness at  all.  Whether  the  command  of  Christ  to  his  apos- 
tles, that  they  should  "  begin  at  Jerusalem,"  is  applicable 
here,  admits  of  a  question  ;  for  it  is  quite  possible  that  the 
reason  of  that  injunction  arose  out  of  his  relationship  to 
the  Jews,  and  not  from  that  of  the  apostles  —  a  relation 
which  as  it  was  perfectly  unique,  cannot  be  a  ground  of  obli- 
gation to  his  followers.  But  allowing  that  it  is  applicable, 
and  that  it  thus  harmonizes  with  our  present  position ;  you, 
we  say  to  the  objector,  you,  by  pleading  exclusively  for  home, 
are  acting  directly  at  variance  with  it ;  for  while  it  allows  you 
to  begin  at  home,  it  does  not  permit  you  to  rest  till  you  have 
aimed  to  diffuse  the  gospel  "  among  all  nations."  And  this 
shows  that  the  order  in  which  our  benevolent  efforts  are  to  be 
made  is  not  only  the  order  of  nature,  of  Providence,  of  scrip- 
tural example,  and  of  the  final  judgment,  but  also  the  order 
of  self-increasing  Christian  usefulness ;  the  order,  that  is,  by 
which,  in  seeking  the  salvation  of  those  immediately  around 
us  first,  we  multiply  our  means,  through  the  grace  of  God, 
fpr  usefulness  to  the  world  at  large. 

Hence,  a  third  principle  is,  that  by  observing  the  scriptu- 
ral order  of  Christian  activity,  success  at  home  becomes  the 
means  of  increased  usefulness  abroad.     Home  duties,  then, 


292  OBJECTIONS   TO   THE 

are  to  be  discharged  partly  with  the  view  of  ultimately  aug- 
menting our  resources  for  every  sphere  of  usefulness  beyond ; 
so  that  we  may  say  to  the  objector,  The  Christian  philan- 
thropist has  all  your  motives  for  seeking  the  welfare  of  those 
around  him,  and  one  in  addition  of  which  you  know  noth- 
ing,—  the  powerful  motive  of  thus  multiplying  his  means 
of  benefiting  the  world  at  large.  How  many  a  Christian 
mother  has  found  a  strong  additional  inducement  to  the  dis- 
charge of  maternal  duties  from  having  devoted  her  Samuel  in 
heart  to  the  public  service  of  God !  How  many  a  Sunday 
school  teacher  has  labored  in  his  high  vocation  with  increased 
devotedness  when  the  thought  arose  that  perhaps  his  class 
contained  some  youthful  Eliot  or  Brainerd  for  the  missionary 
field !  And  what  a  strong  incentive  to  persevering  diligence 
has  the  faithful  pastor  found  in  the  recollection  that  the  pros- 
perity of  his  flock  was  an  element  in  the  prosperity  of  the 
church  at  large,  and  consequently  in  the  welfare  of  the  entire 
world ! 

But  from  this  arises,  fourthly,  the  important  principle  that, 
in  proportion  as  we  scripturally  seek  the  good  of  others,  we 
ourselves  are  benefited.  For,  in  the  instances  referred  to,  the 
mother,  the  teacher,  and  the  minister,  would  be  the  first 
gainers  by  their  increased  attention  to  their  respective  classes 
of  duties ;  and  the  son,  the  pupil,  and  the  flock,  would  be  the 
next,  though  the  ultimate  object  aimed  at  was  the  good  of 
parties  still  more  remote.  And  do  you  not  know,  we  might 
say  to  the  objector,  that  this  is  only  in  harmony  with  the  law 
of  the  divine  government  which  ordains  that  "  he  that  water- 
eth  others  shall  himself  be  watered  "  ?  You  surely  do  not 
suppose  that  the  fulfilment  of  this  gracious  declaration  de- 
pends on  geographical  limits.  If  it  guaranties  to  the  indi- 
vidual Christian  the  reflex  benefit  of  all  the  good  he  aims  to 
impart  to  his  friend,  and  if  it  secures  to  a  particular  church 
the  advantageous  reaction  of  all  its  efforts  for  the  welfare  of 
home,  it  equally  engages  that  Christians  at  home  cannot  unite 
to  benefit  the  world,  without  finding  the  benefit  return  in 
showers  of  blessings  upon  themselves.  The  history  of  modern 
missions  is,  as  we  have  already  shown,  a  continuous  illustra- 
tion of  this  great  truth.  So  great  has  been  the  beneficial 
influence  which  they  have  been  the  means  of  exerting  upon 
the  church  at  home,  that,  if  the  missionaries  had  effected  little 
or  no  good  among  the  heathen,  they  have  accomplished  more 
for  their  own  countries  by  going  abroad  than  if  they  had 
remained  to  occupy  the  most  distinguished  station  at  home. 


MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  293 

But  of  all  this  reflex  influence  you  would  deprive  your  coun- 
try. By  limiting  benevolent  exertion  to  your  own  circle, 
you  would  arrest  the  operation  of  a  law  by  which  all  you  do 
beyond  that  circle  is  repaid  a  hundred  fold,  and  without  which, 
probably,  there  would  be  no  benevolent  activity  at  this  mo- 
ment within  that  circle  itself. 

And  then,  fifthly,  this  reciprocity  of  religious  advantage 
reminds  us  of  the  great  principle  that  the  cause  of  human 
welfare  is  indivisible  and  one.  Whereas  your  objection  pro- 
ceeds on  the  assumption  that  the  interests  of  religion  at  home 
and  abroad  are  opposed  to  each  other ;  so  that  whatever  is 
done  to  promote  the  one  is  so  much  lost  to  the  other.  But  is 
this  a  supposition  worthy  of  the  professed  follower  of  Him 
who  embraced  all  the  interests  of  humanity  in  his  own  person, 
and  who  left  his  gospel  in  trust  for  "  every  creature  "  ?  It  is 
true  that  the  claims  of  a  religious  society  are  sometimes  mag- 
nified beyond  their  due  proportion  of  importance,  and  enforced 
in  a  manner  which  threatens  with  neglect  or  collision  certain 
kindred  institutions.  And  in  some  instances,  a  prior  duty  of 
inferior  importance  is  underrated  and  neglected  for  a  more 
remote  but  magnificent  enterprise.  But  these  are  errors  and 
evils  incident  alike  to  the  cause  of  religion  at  home  and 
abroad.  The  advocates  of  each,  however,  should  remember, 
that  all  our  duties,  temporal  and  spiritual,  are  so  related,  that 
he  who  neglects  the  least  will  find  no  excuse  in  pleading  that 
he  was  attending  to  the  greatest ;  and  that  all  our  Christian 
societies  are  so  connected,  that  he  who  promotes  one  at  the 
expense  of  another,  inflicts  injury  upon  them  all.  The  ex- 
ample of  our  blessed  Lord  in  looking  down  from  the  cross, 
and  tenderly  providing  for  a  mother's  comfort  in  the  very 
crisis  of  the  world's  redemption,  shows  that  all  the  true  in- 
terests of  humanity  are  indivisible,  and  that  all  duty  is  sacred 
and  one. 

V.  Supposing  the  objector  dislodged  from  the  preceding 
position,  he  may  yet  allege  that,  even  if  it  be  our  duty  to 
attempt  the  evangelization  of  the  heathen,  we  have  not  the 
necessary  funds.  This  objection,  we  might  reply,  is  untena- 
ble on  various  grounds :  it  proceeds  on  the  assumption  that 
we  have  already  reached  the  maximum  of  our  contributions 
for  missionary  objects ;  whereas  the  steadiness  with  which,  for 
so  many  years,  they  have  gone  on  annually  increasing,  war- 
rants the  expectation  rather  that  they  will  still  continue  to 


294  OBJECTIONS   TO   THE 

increase.  The  objection  assumes,  too,  that  the  Christian 
church  is  either  so  good  or  so  bad  as  to  admit  of  no  improve- 
ment; whereas  we  confidently  anticipate  that,  in  answer  to 
prayer,  the  Spirit  will  exalt  the  character  of  its  piety,  and 
that,  as  one  of  the  necessary  consequences,  the  pecuniary 
resources  of  Christians  will  be  consecrated  in  a  larger  pro- 
portion than  ever  to  the  service  of  God.  Another  of  the 
false  assumptions  on  which  the  objection  proceeds  is,  that 
the  expense  of  evangelizing  the  nations  is  always  to  devolve 
entirely  on  the  church  at  home.  But  let  Christianity  begin 
to  consecrate  to  Christian  purposes  those  immense  sums  which 
paganism  lavishes  on  its  vain  superstitions,  and  the  church 
at  home  might  be  reimbursed,  if  necessary,  of  the  expenses 
already  incurred.  Christianity  would  need  little  for  its  sup- 
port, compared  with  what  idolatry  requires.  The  celebration 
of  the  feast  of  the  Hindoo  goddess  Doorga  costs,  at  Calcutta 
alone,  not  less  than  the  annual  sum  of  five  hundred  thousand 
pounds  sterling.  "  In  the  kingdom  of  Siam  alone,  with  a 
population  of  four  or  five  millions,  there  are  at  least  twenty 
thousand  priests,  besides  a  great  number  of  splendid  and 
costly  pagodas,  supported  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of 
the  people.  In  Burmah,  India,  and  many  Mahometan  coun- 
tries, we  find  the  same  lavish  expenditure  of  talents  and 
money  in  honor  of  their  objects  of  adoration."  *  Let  these 
resources  be  turned  into  the  channels  of  Christian  benev- 
olence, and  not  only  will  they  be  sufficient,  by  the  divine 
blessing,  to  irrigate  their  own  desert,  but  even  to  help  in 
fertilizing  whatever  waste  places  might  still  exist  in  our  own 
borders. 

But  most  of  all  do  we  demur  at  the  grave  assumption,  that 
the  ultimate  success  of  the  missionary  enterprise  depends  on 
the  amount  of  our  funds.  That  money  is  necessary  for  the 
prosecution  of  our  object,  we  admit ;  but,  remembering  that 
an  almighty  Agent  is  graciously  working  with  us  and  by  us, 
the  question  of  "  how  much?  "  admits  not  of  human  calcula- 
tion. And  remembering  also  that  in  the  promises  of  divine 
approbation  and  success,  the  stress  is  laid,  not  so  much  on 
the  intrinsic  value  of  the  offering  or  service,  as  on  the  man- 
ner in  which  it  is  rendered,  we  are  warranted  in  affirming 
that  the  consummation  at  which  we  aim  depends  not  on  the 
amount  of  our  resources,  but  on  the  entireness  with  which 

*  Abeel  on  Missions,  p.  142. 


MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  295 

we  consecrate  that  amount,  whether  great  or  small,  to  the 
service ;  that  were  we,  on  the  one  hand,  to  devote  a  thousand 
fold  more  to  it,  we  should  not  be  warranted  to  expect  success, 
if  still  we  sacrilegiously  kept  back  a  portion  unemployed ; 
but  that  if,  on  the  other  hand,  our  funds,  and  agents,  and 
resources,  were  to  be  ever  so  much  reduced  from  what  they 
now  are,  still,  if  they  were  all  we  could  furnish,  we  should  be 
justified  in  expecting  complete  success.  Let  the  multitude 
to  be  fed  be  ever  so  large,  and  the  means  of  feeding  them 
ever  so  small,  still  if  the  whole  of  that  scanty  provision  be 
cheerfully  placed  in  the  hand  of  Christ,  in  that  hand  it  will 
be  so  greatly  multiplied,  that  they  shall  "  all  eat  and  be  filled." 
To  suppose,  in  such  a  case,  that  we  should  fail  in  diffusing 
the  gospel  over  the  earth,  is  to  suppose,  either  that  we  are 
not  responsible  for  that  diffusion,  or  it  is  to  make  that  respon- 
sibility return,  and  rest  on  him  who  had  imposed  it. 

VI.  Still  the  objector  may  plead,  that,  since  our  Lord 
prayed  for  the  visible  union  of  all  his  followers  in  order  to 
the  conversion  of  the  world,  we  ought  not  to  embark  in  the 
missionary  enterprise  until  that  union  has  been  effected. 
Not  only  do  we  admit  that  this  representation  of  the  prayer 
of  Christ  is  correct,  —  we  believe  that  the  spirit  of  disunion 
among  Christians  is  doing  more  at  this  moment  to  prevent 
the  diffusion  and  success  of  Christianity  in  the  world  than  all 
other  causes  together.  But  the  propriety  of  deducing  and 
adopting  the  objector's  inference  from  this  admission  we 
unhesitatingly  deny.  We  have  to  remind  him  first,  and 
chiefly,  that  the  duty  of  diffusing  the  gospel  is  not  made  to 
depend  on  our  union,  but  on  the  explicit  command  of  Christ. 
And,  next,  we  have  to  suggest,  that  our  Lord  may  have 
evinced  his  wisdom  in  this  respect,  by  making  our  efforts  for 
that  diffusion  conducive  to  the  restoration  of  that  union. 
Now  this,  we  submit,  is  actually  the  fact.  The  common 
ground  of  benevolent  activity  is  almost  the  only  bond  of  the 
visible  union  of  Christians  which  remains  unbroken.  And 
it  is  the  growing  conviction  of  the  writer,  that,  as  this  is 
almost  the  last  ligament  which  visibly  holds  them  together, 
so  it  is  likely  to  be  the  first  and  the  principal  means  which 
God  will  employ  in  again  restoring  them  to  each  other's  love. 
Whether  he  will  compel  them  thus  to  unite,  in  mere  self- 
defence  against  the  counter-activity  of  a  world  whose  inter- 
ests they  are  betraying  and  neglecting  by  their  divisions,  or 


296  OBJECTIONS   TO   THE 

whether,  by  an  effusion  of  the  Spirit  of  love  and  zeal,  he  may 
lead  them  to  think  more  of  the  will  of  Christ  than  of  the 
claim  of  party,  we  stay  not  now  to  inquire.  But  judging 
of  the  superior  facilities  for  union  which  plans  of  benevolent 
activity  present,  and  from  the  deepening  conviction  of  Chris- 
tians that  such  combination  is  made  essential  to  the  con- 
version of  the  world,  we  repeat  our  belief  that  benevolent 
cooperation  is  likely  to  be  the  principal  means  of  restoring 
Christian  union. 

Thus  the  objection  against  Christian  missions  is  turned 
into  an  argument  in  their  behalf.  They  make  us  feel  that 
we  have  a  common  object  and  a  common  interest ;  and  what 
can  the  effect  of  that  be  but  to  inspire  us  with  sentiments  of 
reciprocal  affection  ?  Let  us  only  meet  on  common  ground, 
hail  each  other  as  auxiliaries  to  the  same  grand  cause,  and 
cooperate  for  the  common  interests  of  the  world,  and  how 
necessarily  would  our  groundless  dislikes  give  place  to  a  feel- 
ing which  would  deprecate  every  project  to  disjoin,  and  wel- 
come such  measures  only  as  tended  more  closely  to  unite ! 
If  it  be  true  of  the  blessed  God,  that  "  they  who  know  his 
name  will  put  their  trust  in  him,"  it  must  be  true,  in  a  sub- 
ordinate but  corresponding  sense,  that  the  more  his  people, 
as  such,  know  of  each  other  —  of  their  mutual  resemblance 
to  him,  their  common  concern  for  the  salvation  of  the  world, 
and  their  zeal  for  his  glory  —  the  more  sincerely  will  they 
admire  each  other's  piety,  and  the  more  will  they  unite  for 
the  achievement  of  their  common  object ;  while  the  only  con- 
tention between  them  will  be  that  of  the  vine  with  the  olive, 
which  shall  bear  the  best  and  most  abundant  fruit. 

VII.  The  objection  of  the  millenarian  —  that  the  conver- 
sion of  the  heathen  is  reserved  for  the  second  coming  of 
Christ,  and,  consequently,  all  attempts  to  effect  the  object  by 
the  diffusion  of  the  gospel  will  prove  useless  —  we  have  con- 
sidered at  length  in  the  First  Part  of  this  Treatise.  The  reader 
may  remember  that  we  have  there  endeavored  to  show,  that 
such  an  inference  is  at  variance  with  some  of  the  admitted 
principles  and  necessary  deductions  of  divine  revelation ; 
that  it  is  not  warranted  by  prophecy ;  but  that  the  very 
reverse  is  the  doctrine  of  the  prophetic  Scriptures,  and  is 
found  to  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  every  other  part  of  the 
word  of  God  by  which  its  correctness  can  be  properly  tested. 
The  prosecution  of  the  inquiry  discloses,  if  we  mistake  not, 


MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  297 

the  important  facts,  that  whatever  conflicts  may  hereafter 
ensue  between  the  church  and  the  world,  will  arise  from  the 
success  of  the  gospel ;  and  that  whatever  judgments  the  earth 
may  yet  be  called  to  witness,  will  only  concur  with  the  power 
of  the  gospel  to  enlarge  the  domains  of  the  Christian  faith. 
So  that  those  very  predictions  which  are  too  often  made  to 
depress  the  hopes  and  dishearten  the  zeal  of  the  church,  will 
be  found  calculated,  when  rightly  understood,  to  animate  its 
activity  as  with  the  blast  of  a  trumpet. 

VIII.  And  another  objection,  not  very  remotely  allied  to 
the  last,  amounts  to  this :  "  The  time  is  not  come,  the  time 
that  the  Lord's  house  should  be  built."  When  that  selected 
tijne  arrives,  the  Almighty  will  easily  findfrmeans  to  accom- 
plish the  conversion  of  the  world  ;  and  till  then,  all  our  efforts 
are  premature  and  presumptuous,  and  must  prove  abortive. 
In  reply  to  this  Islamite  doctrine,  we  might  say  to  the  ob- 
jector, Your  conduct  in  urging  this  objection  is  inconsistent 
with  your  creed ;  for  how  do  you  know  that  it  is  the  will  of 
God  that  you  should  urge  it  1  Why  "  use  the  means "  for 
correcting  our  supposed  errors  ?  Are  you  not  by  this  very 
act  "  taking  God's  work  out  of  his  hands  "  1  Had  you  not 
better  leave  him  to  take  care  of  his  own  cause  ?  When  "  the 
time  comes"  for  God  to  correct  our  errors,  will  he  not  find 
an  abundance  of  means  without  disquieting  you?  and  till 
then,  is  it  not  presumptuous  for  you  to  attempt  to  "  take  the 
work  out  of  his  hands  "  1  If,  however,  on  some  inexplicable 
ground,  you  still  consider  yourself  justified  in  "  using  means" 
to  denounce  the  missionary  enterprise,  are  you  using  means 
enough  ?  Ought  not  your  opposition  to  become  more  practi- 
cal and  laborious  ?  If  you  really  believe  we  are  forestalling 
the  appointments  of  Heaven  in  assailing  the  idolatries  of  the 
heathen  world,  and  tormenting  the  demons  before  their  time, 
ought  you  not  to  employ  counter-missionaries,  for  instance,  to 
protect  those  abominations,  and  to  prolong  their  reign  for  a 
season  longer  1  But  perhaps  your  principle  of  interference 
only  applies  to  those  cases  in  which  labors  are  unnecessary, 
and  serious  sacrifices  not  required. 

You  surely  do  not  presume  to  plead  that  because  God  per- 
mits the  existence  of  heathenism  —  does  not  arbitrarily  de- 
stroy it  —  therefore  it  is  not  for  you  to  attempt  to  reduce  it. 
This  plea  would  not  avail  you  unless  you  could  assign  the 
same  reasons  for  your  conduct  which  God  can  for  his.     And 


298  OBJECTIONS   TO   THE 

not  only  must  your  reasons  be  identical  with  his,  —  your 
conduct  in  relation  to  heathenism  must  harmonize  with  his. 
But  this  it  cannot,  except  by  your  cordially  embarking  in  the 
missionary  enterprise.  For  has  he  not  maintained  an  un- 
broken contest  with  the  evil?  Have  not  cities,  nations,  a 
world,  perished  for  it?  Has  your  zeal  ever  flamed  against 
it  ?  He  has  appointed  and  put  into  operation  a  grand  system 
of  means  divinely  adapted  to  subvert  the  reign  of  evil ;  what 
are  you  doing  to  give  that  system  impulse  and  activity  ?  He 
has  laid  a  command  on  every  member  of  his  church  to  assist 
in  sending  the  gospel  to  every  creature ;  so  that,  if  you  are  not 
rendering  it  obedience,  and  calling  on  others  to  join  you,  the 
sense  in  which  you  are  content  to  permit  the  continuance  of 
heathenism  differs%ssentially  from  the  only  sense  in  which  he 
can  be  said  to  suffer  it.  Every  attribute  of  his  nature  is  in 
hostility  to  it ;  every  principle  of  his  government  —  the  whole 
course  of  his  providence  —  is  arrayed  against  it ;  the  great 
wonder,  the  miracle  of  his  mercy,  is,  that  he  should  permit 
the  continuance,  age  after  age,  of  a  church  which  he  has 
called  into  existence,  partly  for  the  purpose  of  extinguishing 
that  evil,  but  many  of  whose  members  still  plead,  "  The  time 
is  not  come  —  the  work  is  not  ours,  but  God's." 

Perhaps,  however,  you  profess  to  be  only  waiting  for  the 
necessary  indications,  in  order  to  evince  your  perfect  readi- 
ness to  act.  But  yours  must  be  a  very  controllable  zeal,  if 
it  does  not  sometimes  quicken  into  impatience  for  the  arrival 
of  the  sufficient  signs.  Inspired  men  of  old  often  expressed 
themselves  in  language  which  showed  that  they  would  fain 
have  multiplied  themselves  and  their  means  a  thousand  fold 
against  the  prevalent  idolatry.  Now,  that  must  be  a  state  of 
mind  of  a  very  different  order  which  leads  you  to  regard  ex- 
emption from  such  hostility  as  a  favor,  and  to  denounce  the 
activity  of  others  as  presumption. 

But  what  are  the  signs  from  heaven  which  you  would  deem 
sufficient  to  warrant  you  in  joining  the  missionary  enterprise  ? 
Would  a  direct  and  express  command  possess  any  weight 
with  you  ?  Never  has  the  Lord  of  the  church  ceased  to  say, 
not  to  you  merely,  but  to  every  member  of  that  church, 
"  Preach  my  gospel  to  every  creature."  Would  you  regard 
the  concurrence  of  the  providence  of  God  with  the  command 
of  his  word,  as  an  additional  call  to  action  ?  Behold  it  in  the 
disappearance  of  numerous  obstacles  to  missionary  exertion  ; 
in  the  rapid  accumulation  of  important  facilities;  and  in  the 


MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE.  299 

fact  that  so  many  hundreds  of  agents  are  at  this  moment 
actually  occupied  in  the  missionary  field.  Would  you  regard 
their  success  as  another  indication  that  the  time  for  action 
has  arrived  ?  How  could  you  venture  a  different  interpreta- 
tion? Here,  then,  are  thousands  converted  by  their  instru- 
mentality ;  you  surely  will  not  think,  for  the  sake  of  a  theory, 
of  ascribing  their  change  to  any  other  than  a  divine  agency. 
Remember,  then,  that  each  of  •these  conversions  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  an  argument  from  heaven  against  your  non-inter- 
fering views;  and  as  a  divine  reward  to  the  friends  of  mis- 
sions for  having  acted  on  principles  directly  opposite.  And 
would  you  interpret  the  readiness  and  anxiety  of  the  heathen 
to  receive  Christian  instruction  as  an  additional  sign  that 
the  missionary  era  had  come?  The  Loffl  of  missions  ap- 
pears to  have  regarded  such  readiness  as  a  call  to  activity, 
when  he  directed  his  disciples  to  mark  that  the  fields  were 
white  to  the  harvest.  Far  wider  fields  invite  our  attention. 
In  every  direction,  the  vision  of  the  "  man  of  Macedonia  " 
is,  in  effect,  repeated,  and  heathen  voices  are  heard  lifted  up 
in  earnest  application  for  help. 

Now,  is  it  possible  that  you  should  still  require  other  signs 
that  the  period  for  labor  has  come,  before  you  will  consent  to 
move?  The  reformers,  there  is  ground  to  believe,  deemed 
less  than  these  sufficient  to  justify  them  in  attempting  to  shake 
the  church  and  the  world.  And,  judging  from  the  results, 
you  would  not  say  that  they  displeased  God  by  the  attempt. 
His  most  distinguished  servants  appear  to  have  regarded  his 
express  command,  and  opportunity  to  perform  it,  as  always 
sufficient  to  create  obligation  to  obedience ;  and  the  success 
of  their  endeavors  has  convincingly  shown  that  they  were 
not  mistaken.  With  such  strong  and  numerous  inducements 
to  missionary  devotedness  as  we  possess,  then,  our  only  fear 
for  ourselves  is,  lest  we  should  incur  the  rebuke  of  "  the  un- 
profitable servant ;  "  and  for  you,  lest  you  should  fall  under 
the  spirit  of  the  fearful  denunciation,  "  Curse  ye  Meroz, 
curse  ye  bitterly,  because  they  came  not  out  to  the  help  of 
the  Lord,  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty." 

One  of  the  remarks  inevitably  suggested  by  our  survey  of 
the  preceding  objections  is,  that  each  of  them,  relying  on 
some  partial  view  of  the  truth,  overlooks  the  great  principle 
of  revelation  to  which  it  belongs,  and  by  which  it  must  be 
decided.  Who,  for  instance,  could  ever  have  brought  him- 
self to  look  on  heathenism,  as  if  it  were  in  amicable  coexist- 


300  OBJECTIONS   TO   THE 

ence  with  the  divine  government,  or  on  the  heathens  them- 
selves as  being  in  any  other  state  than  that  of  the  most  fear- 
ful exposure  to  everlasting  death,  unless  he  had  lost  sight  of 
the  universal  and  unrepealable  law,  "  Thou  shalt  have  none 
other  gods  before  me  "  ?  Or,  who  could  have  deemed  it  a  valid 
objection  to  say  that  heathenism  is  unalterable,  until  he  had 
forgotten  that  the  gospel  was  launched  at  first  into  an  ocean 
of  heathenism  —  for,  with  the»exception  of  Judea,  the  whole 
world  was  an  idolatrous  temple ;  that  if  the  case  is  altered 
now,  the  gospel  has  been  the  means  of  effecting  the  change  ; 
that  he  himself  and  those  around  him  are,  in  their  own  persons, 
an  answer  to  the  objection ;  and  that  the  gospel  is  still  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth? 
Or,  who  could  think  that  he  was  acting  scripturally  in  con- 
fining his  evangelical  desires  and  endeavors  exclusively  to 
one  nation,  even  though  that  nation  be  his  own,  until  he  had 
forgotten  the  great  principle  of  our  Lord's  command,  that  the 
gospel  is  designed  equally  for  all  nations  ? 

Another  reflection  forced  on  us  by  these  objections  is,  that 
many,  if  not  all  of  them,  have  been  defended  with  a  pertina- 
city which  zeal  for  the  truth  can  seldom  command.  If  those 
who  entertain  them  set  a  high  value  on  religious  distinctness 
from  the  world,  they  are  certainly  unfortunate  in  having 
adopted  objections  to  the  missionary  cause,  which,  as  far  as 
they  go,  completely  identify  them  with  the  world.  And  we 
will  venture  to  suggest  whether  it  ought  not  to  awaken  their 
suspicion  as  to  the  soundness  of  their  views  on  finding,  that 
if  indolence,  self-indulgence,  and  unbelief,  could  speak  on 
the  subject,  it  would  be  to  repeat  the  very  same  objections  in 
the  same  language. 

But  chiefly  we  are  reminded,  that  Christian  missions  have 
this  mark,  in  common  with  the  gospel,  that  they  are  not 
of  men,  but  of  God,  that  every  objection  brought  against  them 
can  be  so  easily  converted  into  an  argument  in  their  behalf. 
And  this  removal  of  the  war  from  our  own  into  the  enemy's 
country  takes  place,  be  it  observed,  in  every  instance,  not 
merely  by  a  triumphant  appeal  to  undeniable  and  accumu- 
lating facts,  but  also  on  the  authority  of  one  or  more  of  those 
great  principles  of  the  word  of  God  which  the  objector  had 
overlooked.  Thus  does  he  plead  that  missionary  effort  is  un- 
necessary, because  the  state  of  the  heathen  is  not  so  desper- 
ate as  we  seem  to  imagine?  We  can  show  him  that  if  ram- 
pant rebellion  against  God  be  a  state  of  guilt ;  if  to  be  hope- 


MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  301 

less  and  godless  be  a  condition  of  misery ;  and  if  the  most 
fearful  threatenings  of  the  offended  Majesty  of  heaven  be  a 
just  ground  of  terror,  then  is  the  whole  idolatrous  world  in  a 
state  of  the  most  crying  and  appalling  want ;  for  such  are 
their  guilt,  and  wretchedness,  and  danger,  that  hell  may  be 
said  to  have  come  to  them  on  this  side  death.  Does  he 
regard  the  missionary  object  as  impracticable  ?  We  can  show 
him  that  the  difficulties  are  vanishing  while  he  is  speaking  of 
them.  We  can  call  for  the  trophies  of  divine  success  —  and 
they  come  from  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth.  Impracticable  ! 
What,  when  hundreds  of  missionaries  are  actually  in  the 
field ;  thousands,  tensj  hundreds  of  thousands  of  heathens 
converted  and  collected  into  Christian  societies,  and  of  their 
children  receiving  Christian  instruction !  No  good  done ! 
Spirits  of  the  blessed,  who  have  ascended  from  the  mission- 
ary churches  to  join  the  ranks  of  the  redeemed  out  of  all 
nations  and  kindreds,  and  who  are  now  before  the  throne,  — 
is  your  salvation  nothing?  Nothing  to  yourselves,  as  you 
glance  from  the  depths  you  have  escaped  to  the  heights  you 
have  attained !  Nothing  to  the  society  you  have  joined  ! 
Nothing  to  Him,  the  light  of  whose  countenance  is  at  this 
moment  falling  on  you,  and  making  your  heaven !  The 
objection  is  turned  into  a  rebuke  that  we  should  have  been 
detained  by  it  so  long.  In  a  word,  whatever  his  pleas  may 
be,  unless  he  can  show  that  the  great  command  of  Christ  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature  —  a  command  frequently 
repeated,  and  variously  enforced  in  Scripture  as  the  law  of 
the  Christian  church  —  has  been  modified  or  repealed,  we 
confidently  bring  down  its  annihilating  weight  on  all  his 
objections,  and  challenge  him,  as  one  included  in  the  principle 
which  it  contains,  that  all  who  possess  the  gospel  are  bound 
to  cooperate  to  the  extent  of  their  ability  in  giving  it  to  the 
world. 

26 


PART  V. 


THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  IN  RELATION 
TO  THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE,  OR,  THE  NECES- 
SITY OF  EMINENT  PIETY  AND  ENTIRE  CONSECRA- 
TION   IN    ORDER    TO    ENLARGED    SUCCESS. 


THE    WANTS     OF     THE     CHRISTIAN     CHURCH     IN     RELATION    TO 
MISSIONS. 

The  prosecution  of  our  prescribed  course  has  brought  us 
to  a  very  important  part  of  our  subject.  If,  as  we  have  shown 
in  the  First  Part,  the  church  is  constructed  expressly  to  im- 
body  and  diffuse  the  influence  of  the  cross  throughout  the 
world ;  if  the  Second  Part  proves  that,  as  far  as  the  church 
has  answered  this  end  in  the  modern  missionary  enterprise, 
its  success  has  been  fully  proportioned  to  its  efforts ;  if  the 
Third  Part  has  shown  that  encouragements  from  every  quarter 
urge  and  animate  us  to  advance  in  our  missionary  career ; 
and  if  the  Fourth  Part  assures  us  that  every  objection  to  our 
course  becomes,  when  rightly  considered,  an  argument  to 
redouble  our  efforts,  —  an  unreflecting  reader  might  be  ready 
to  conclude  that  nothing  remains  for  us  but  mutual  congratu- 
lations and  unalloyed  satisfaction.  v 

The  enlightened  Christian,  however,  need  not  be  reminded 
that  as,  in  his  own  experience,  a  sense  of  joy  in  God,  and  of 
dissatisfaction  with  himself,  often  meet  together  in  the  same 
moment,  so  the  hour  in  which  the  church  may  have  the 
greatest  reason  to  rejoice  through  God  in  its  relative  useful- 
ness, may  be  the  hour  in  which  the  dust  of  self-abasement 
may  most  become  it  on  account  of  its  own  defective  instru- 
mentality. He  will  remember  that,  however  "  the  manifold 
wisdom  of  God  "  may  have  been  displayed  in  organizing  his 
church  for  usefulness,  but  few  of  its  members  as  yet  may 


WANTS   OF   THE   CHURCH    AS   TO   MISSIONS.       303 

have  perceived  that  adaptation,  and  fewer  still  have  combined 
to  exemplify  it  in  practice.  He  will  remember  that,  while  the 
church  now,  as  compared  with  what  it  has  been,  may  be  doing 
much,  yet,  compared  with  what  it  should  be,  it  may  be  doing 
nothing  ;  that  its  fitness  for  one  office  by  no  means  implies  a 
fitness  for  every  order  of  duty;  and  that  its  very  improve- 
ment may  be  made  in  a  manner  which  may  justly  incur 
rebuke.  He  is  aware  that  much  collective  activity  may  exist 
where  there  is.  but  very  little  individual  zeal;  that,  owing  to 
the  blessing  of  God  on  that  activity,  opportunities  of  useful- 
ness may  increase  more  rapidly  than  our  readiness  to  seize 
and  improve  them ;  and  that,  in  this  manner,  success  itself 
may  become  a  snare  and  a  burden.  And  remembering  all 
this,  the  effect  of  the  preceding  survey  will  be  that  so  far 
from  hastily  surrendering  himself  to  the  pleasing  but  hazard- 
ous conclusion  that  all  is  well,  he  will  feel  that  now  has 
arrived  the  time  for  humble,  searching,  anxious  self-examina- 
tion ;  that  to  detect  an  evil  now,  may  be  the  means  of  saving 
us  from  undue  elation  at  present,  and  from  much  mortifica- 
tion in  the  future ;  and  that  to  point  out  the  great  want  of 
the  church  now,  may  be  to  bring  to  it  present  prosperity, 
and  to  hasten  by  ages  the  glory  of  God  in  the  salvation  of 
the  world. 

But  how  is  this  examination  of  the  church  to  be  con- 
ducted ;  or,  where  is  to  be  found  the  test  of  its  fitness  for 
converting  the  world  1  This  can  only  be  found  in  its  original 
constitution.  Now,  on  looking  back  to  our  exposition  of 
Christian  instrumentality,  it  will  be  seen  that,  according  to 
that  constitution,  the  individual  Christian,  the  particular 
church,  the  entire  Christian  community,  —  the  whole,  pene- 
trated and  actuated  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  —  is  intended  rela- 
tively to  act  in  harmony  with  the  cross  for  the  good  of  the 
world.  Every  addition  made  to  it  is  meant  to  be  an  addi- 
tional agent  for  carrying  out  the  purposes  of  the  cross.  Every 
element  at  work  in  it  —  whether  it  arises  from  numbers  and 
combination,  from  eminent  piety,  self-denial,  and  zeal,  or 
from  prayer-  and  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  uniting  with 
the  whole  —  is  an  element  for  drawing  men  to  Christ. 

But  if  the  full  efficiency  of  the  church  for  this  end  de- 
pends, under  God,  on  the  entireness  of  its  consecration  to 
this  office,  it  will  follow  that  the  slightest  diversion  of  its  in- 
fluence from  this  object  is  so  much  given  to  the  very  power 
which  it  was  called  into  existence  expressly  to  counteract ; 


304         THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

and  that  this  is,  in  effect,  the  secret  of  its  long  decline 
and  fall. 

But,  then,  it  follows  also  that  if,  at  length,  in  that  depressed 
state,  the  church  should  awake  to  a  sense  of  its  responsi- 
bility as  a  missionary  agent  for  the  world's  recovery  to  Christ 
—  if,  then,  it  should  withhold  any  proportion  of  its  influence, 
in  that  very  proportion  it  would  stand  disqualified  for  answer- 
ing its  great  original  design.  In  this  position  the  church 
now  stands ;  and  here,  we  repeat,  is  the  test  of  its  fitness,  at 
present,  for  its  missionary  office.  To  bring  it  to  this  test, 
indeed,  has  been  the  duty  of  every  age.  But  never  so  much 
so  as  now,  when,  after  the  slumber  of  centuries,  it  is  meditat- 
ing the  renovation  of  the  world. 

Now,  on  calling  upon  the  Christian  church  to  muster  for 
this  review,  is  it  not  ominous  at  the  outset,  that  we  know  not 
who  will  appear  ?  In  answer  to  the  name  of  Christian, 
indeed,  about  two  hundred  millions  present  themselves.  But 
the  great  majority  of  these  Christianity  disowns.  She  knows 
them  not.  Many  of  them  are  among  the  chosen  of  Satan. 
The  heathen  around  them  are  the  worse  for  their  vicinity. 
They  must  be  dismissed  by  millions  to  the  ranks  of  the  foe. 
And  thus,  like  Gideon's  army,  the  number  is  reduced  by  a 
single  sweep  to  a  comparative  few.  And  here  goes,  at  first, 
the  influence  of  numbers. 

But  perhaps  it  may  be  said,  that  large  portions  of  Chris- 
tendom make  no  pretensions  to  the  missionary  spirit,  and 
ought  not,  therefore,  to  be  subjected  to  the  examination. 
Without  stopping  to  contest  the  point,  and  in  order  to  be 
definite,  let  us  suppose  that,  after  all  such  portions  have  been 
dismissed,  those  who  remain  before  us  consist  of  the  various 
denominations  professing  evangelical  Christianity.  Let  us 
indulge  the  hope  that  as  they  are  so  reduced  in  number,  and 
as  each  equally  professes  to  live  for  the  salvation  of  the  world, 
they  have  at  least  learnt  the  unspeakable  value  of  union. 
United!  Union!  What  does  it  mean?  When  did  it  exist? 
Is  it  not  a  fiction  of  the  fancy  ?  If  there  be  such  a  thing, 
the  church  practically  disowns  it.  Whatever  sympathetic 
connection  may  here  and  there  exist  among  individual  Chris- 
tians, the  church,  as  a  church,  disowns  it.  See  how  these 
Christians  hate !  In  their  visible  and  public  capacity,  they 
scorn  to  approach  each  other.  They  expend  more  strength 
in  struggling  with  each  other  than  in  encountering  the  world. 
The  world  looks  on  amused.  Infidelity  claps  her  hands. 
And  thus  is  lost  the  influence  of  union. 


IN    RELATION    TO   MISSIONS.  305 

But  though  it  be  thus  divided  as  a  whole,  let  us  hope  to 
find  that  the  members  of  each  particular  church  are  alive 
and  devoted  as  one  man  to  its  missionary  design.  Let  us 
take  one  church  as  a  specimen  of  all.  Here  are  a  thousand 
souls,  we  will  suppose,  assembled  for  Christian  worship.  As 
the  service  proceeds,  the  time  for  commemorating  the  great 
doctrine  of  the  cross  arrives.  The  majority  arise  and  quit 
the  place ,  thus  practically  disavowing  all  belief  in  the 
doctrine,  or  all  interest  in  it;  and  leaving  it  to  be  inferred 
that,  for  aught  they  care,  the  world  may  forget,  if  it  will, 
that  Christianity  has  a  cross,  or  that  Christ  died  on  it  for  our 
redemption. 

But  still  we  will  suppose  a  large  minority  remains.  Do 
we,  however,  flatter  ourselves  that  we  shall  find  general  co- 
operation and  devotedness  here  ?  We  only  evince  our  igno- 
rant simplicity.  True,  they  have  just  pledged  themselves 
anew  at  the  table  of  the  Lord  to  the  cause  of  the  world's 
salvation ;  but  let  us  wait  a  while,  and  we  shall  soon  see  how 
little  that  means  —  nothing  incompatible  with  the  most  un- 
moved worldly  self-indulgence.  We  expected  to  see  them  all 
equally  interested  in  the  object ;  but  let  us  wait  a  while,  and 
we  shall  see  that  the  task  of  keeping  them  thus  partially 
awake  devolves  entirely  on  two  or  three.  We  might  have 
expected  to  see  these,  at  least,  nobly  devote  to  Christ  a  por- 
tion of  the  time  which  the  world  devotes  entirely  to  the  pur- 
suits of  gain;  but  no;  religion  must  wait  till  the  world  has 
been  fully  satisfied ;  and  then,  if  a  few  of  the  jaded  moments 
of  evening  are  of  service,  they  are  spared. 

Agents  of  mercy  are  wanted  for  distant  lands;  and  we 
might  have  expected  to  see  them  start  forth  from  the  ranks 
of  the  rich  and  the  poor  alike ;  or,  rather,  we  might  have 
looked  to  see  those  who  would  require  the  least  delay  for 
educational  preparation  and  support,  offer  themselves  first. 
Might  we  so?  What,  when  the  act  would  involve  the  danger 
of  losing  caste  with  the  world  ?  Surely  we  did  not  expect 
to  see  them  incur  such  a  risk  merely  for  the  sake  of  saving 
immortal  souls.  True,  the  act  would  have  the  noblest  effect 
both  on  the  church  and  on  the  world ;  but  we  cannot  expect 
them  to  sacrifice  gentility,  and  ease,  and  the  prospect  of 
worldly  gain,  for  such  an  object ! 

Wealth  is  wanted  to  prepare  and  send  forth  those  who  do 
offer  themselves  —  all  the  superfluous  wealth  of  the  church. 
But  what  do  we  behold?  Not  only  is  every  other  claimant 
26* 


306  THE   WANTS   OF    THE    CHURCH 

satisfied  first ;  not  only  is  self,  the  most  clamorous  of  them 
all,  appeased;  but  only  a  fraction  of  what  is  left  is  then 
placed  on  the  altar  of  Christ. 

Prayer  is  wanted ;  and  from  what  we  hear  them  say  of  its 
efficacy,  we  might  expect  that,  however  remiss  in  other 
means,  they  would  not  neglect  this ;  that  perhaps  they  were 
indifferent  to  the  others,  only  to  reserve  the  ardor  of  their 
souls  for  this.  But  when  the  monthly  or  periodical  season 
comes  round,  when  the  church  is  supposed  to  be  all  collected 
and  intent  on  obtaining  an  audience  of  Heaven  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  world's  salvation,  what  do  we  behold  ?  Crowds 
thronging  and  besieging  Heaven  with  supplications]  the 
strong  cries  of  a  church  travailing  to  bring  forth  ?  The  reply 
is  too  obvious  to  be  necessary.  Here,  then,  is  lost  the  influ- 
ence of  self-denial,  consistency,  and  prayer. 

That,  exceptions  to  this  representation  exist,  we  gladly 
admit — exceptions  which  stand  out  in  bold  and  bright 
relief —  and  owing  to  which  it  is,  that  the  church  is  not 
actually  retrograde.  But  that  this  is  the  rule,  we  confidently 
appeal  to  observation  and  experience.  Need  we  then  ask  if 
the  Spirit  is  visibly  and  gloriously  present  with  the  church  ? 
Present  with  individual  ministers  and  members  of  the  church, 
to  a  certain  extent,  he  is  ;  present  with  certain  societies  com- 
posed of  a  number  of  such  ministers  and  members,  he  is  — 
societies  which  are  the  salt  of  the  churches,  as  Christians 
are  said  to  be  the  salt  of  the  earth — but  present  with  the 
church,  as  a  church,  he  is  not.  As  a  church,  Christians  do 
not  invoke  him.  As  a  church,  they  are  not  awake  to  their 
responsibility.  And  how  can  he,  the  great  Missionary  Spirit, 
sent  to  convince  the  world  of  sin,  honor  a  church  which  is 
so  generally  content  that  the  world  should  remain  uncon- 
vinced ?  How  can  his  activity  combine  with  its  comparative 
indolence  ?  —  his  love  mingle  with  its  internal  hatred  ?  —  his 
gushing  benevolence  with  its  supine  self-indulgence  1 

In  thus  exposing  the  defects  of  the  Christian  church,  in 
relation  to  its  missionary  office,  we  have  abridged  the  unwel- 
come task  as  much  as  is  consistent  with  the  object  of  showing 
that  defects  exist  with  a  view  of  pointing  out  the  remedy. 
And  if  this  sketch  be  correct,  can  we  wonder  if  the  world  is 
slow  to  receive  the  gospel  at  our  hands  1  What  reason  has 
the  church,  as  a  church,  yet  given  the  world  that  she  herself 
believes  it?  Here  and  there  an  individual  member  acts  out 
his  principles,  and  the  world  admits  his  sincerity  ;  and,  how- 


IN    RELATION    TO   MISSIONS.  307 

ever  it  may  dislike  his  holiness,  is  almost  as  ready  to  admire 
his  consistency  and  exemplariness,  as  the  church  itself.  But 
what  reason  has  the  church  generally  given  the  world  to  be- 
lieve it  sincere  ?  For  fifteen  hundred  years  the  wealth  of  the 
world  was  passing  through  its  hands;  did  it  employ  that 
mighty  talent  for  the  world's  conversion  ?  The  world  itself 
was  at  its  feet;  did  it  do  much  better  than  trample  on  it? 
Again,  the  world,  in  a  nobler  sense,  is  at  our  feet ;  asking  us, 
if  not  in  anguish  of  soul,  at  least  with  marks  of  visible  con- 
cern, what  it  must  do  to  be  saved.  Providence  is  urging  us 
to  answer  the  question  ;  Christ  is  saying,  **  Go  and  proclaim 
the  cross  to  every  creature ; "  and  we  ourselves,  professing  to 
believe  that  we  hold  in  our  hands  the  means  of  success  — 
professing  to  exult  that  the  gospel  is  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation  —  Can  yet  hardly  bring  ourselves  to  tell  more  than 
one  in  a  thousand,  that  there  is  any  salvation  ;  and,  profess- 
ing to  believe  that  Christ  has  an  absolute  claim  on  all  we 
have,  can  hardly  bring  ourselves  to  surrender  sufficient  to  tell 
that  one  in  a  thousand.  O,  if  our  Lord  had  forbade  self- 
denial  —  if  he  were  now  to  repeal  the  law  of  self-consecration, 
and  to  enact  a  law  of  self-indulgence  —  would  not  the  great 
majority  of  his  people  be  found  in  a  state  of  perfect  obedience  ? 
If  living  to  themselves  would  convert  the  world,  how  long 
since  would  the  world  have  been  saved ! 

Do  we  —  can  we  —  wonder  that  no  more  good  has  been 
effected  by  us?  What,  when  we  are  acting  in  almost  entire 
oblivion  of  the  Scripture  theory  of  Christian  usefulness? 
When,  as  members  of  the  Christian  church,  we  are  violating 
almost  every  part  of  that  theory  ?  What,  when  we  have  had 
to  act  in  the  face  not  merely  of  a  sinful  world,  but  of  the  still 
more  hostile  influences  arising  from  our  own  selfish  incon- 
sistency ?  When  the  influence  of  the  little  we  have  done 
has  been  fearfully  diminished  by  the  neutralizing  effect  of 
the  much  we  have  left  undone  ?  We  have  had  to  act  against 
ourselves.  The  world  quotes  us  as  authority  against  our- 
selves. Our  habits  neutralize  our  acts.  Our  deeds  contra- 
dict and  silence  our  professions.  The  powerful  influence 
which  should  have  arisen  from  our  evident  union,  disinter- 
estedness, and  self-consecration,  though  lost  to  us,  is  not  lost 
to  the  conflict  in  which  we  are  engaged ;  it  is  arrayed  against 
us ;  it  is  more  effectual  than  all  other  influences  combined, 
in  rendering  powerless  the  effect  of  our  actual  efforts.  The 
wonder  is,  then,  that  efforts  so  slender,  divided,  and  languid 


308  THE    WANTS   OF   THE   CHURCH 

as  ours  are,  should  have  been  attended,  not  with  so  little, 
but  with  so  much  success.  The  glory  is  more  evidently  the 
Lord's. 

Can  we  doubt,  then,  what  it  is  which  the  missionary 
church  of  Christ  requires?  simply  to  realize  the  Scripture 
requirement  of  entire  consecration  to  its  office.  Let  us  not 
say,  in  excuse,  it  has  never  been  realized.  Never  by  a 
church,  perhaps,  but  by  more  of  its  individual  members  than 
history  records,  or  than  we  may  imagine.  Religion  has  ever 
had  a  few  such  on  the  earth ;  and  to  that  two  or  three  the 
church  has  been  more  indebted,  under  God,  than  to  all  its 
other  contemporaneous  members  together.  If  corrupt,  they 
have  saved  it  from  sinking  under  the  weight  of  its  evils.  If 
sunk,  they  have  helped  it  to  rise.  And,  hence,  when  an 
enlightened  posterity  records  the  annals  of  their  age,  their 
names  are  almost  the  only  honored.  When  the  Holy  Spirit 
himself  indites  the  "  Acts  of  the  Apostles,"  he  comparatively 
passes  by  all  the  rest,  to  do  honor  to  the  man  who  went 
through  the  world  exclaiming,  "  None  of  us  liveth  to  himself." 
Let  us  not  say,  again,  "  My  domestic  claims  —  my  children  — 
require  my  time,  absorb  my  property,  and  thus  curtail  my 
usefulness."  They  were  meant  to  increase  our  usefulness ; 
to  augment  the  moral  treasures  of  the  church ;  to  multiply 
its  agencies  of  good  to  the  world.  Are  they  not  training  up 
for  God  1  What,  is  the  sum  of  our  moral  history  to  be,  that 
we  contributed  a  trifle  in  money  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  and 
left  our  children  to  carry  on  the  cause  of  Satan  1  Better  for 
the  Christian  cause  had  we  never  been  born.  As  if  they  had 
been  sent  down  to  us  from  heaven  with  a  charge  from  Christ 
to  prepare  them  for  his  service,  let  us  look  on  them  as  the 
instruments  by  which,  while  we  live,  we  may  extend  our  use- 
fulness ;  and  by  which,  when  dead,  we  may  still  continue  to 
say  to  posterity,  "  None  of  us  liveth  to  himself." 

Can  we  doubt,  then,  we  repeat,  what  it  is  which  the 
church  requires  ?  A  growing  desire  to  be  useful  we  have ; 
and  a  growing  disposition  to  be  active.  But  that  which  we 
most  require,  and  for  the  want  of  which  no  activity  can  ever 
compensate,  is  a  fitness,  that  moral  fitness  which  springs  from 
disinterested  devotedness  to  the  one  object  of  the  world's 
salvation.  If  religion  has  not  yet  mastered  us,  how  can  we 
expect  by  it  to  master  others  ?  How  can  we  speak  effectively 
for  religion  to  the  world,  when  it  is  so  necessary  that  some 
one  should  plead  for  religion  with  us  ?     How  can  we  expect 


IN    RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  309 

to  reclaim  the  world  to  Christ,  when  large  tracts  of  our  own 
character  are  unreclaimed ;  when  the  most  fruitful  and  cher- 
ished tracts  within  us  are  pagan  tracts,  where  the  objects  and 
idols  of  sense  are  worshipped?  —  Mahometan  tracts,  where 
self-indulgence  reigns  ?  —  a  moral  waste  ?  Unless  all  the 
rules  of  fitness  between  means  and  ends  are  to  be  dispensed 
with,  how  can  we  expect  the  world  to  believe  that  it  is  per- 
ishing until  they  behold  us  in  anguish  for  their  rescue  ?  The 
world  is  selfish ;  how  can  we  hope  to  reclaim  it  if  we  our- 
selves are  not  models  of  disinterestedness  ?  "  If  you  Chris- 
tians have  known  all  these  things,"  says  the  pagan,  "  and 
really  believed  that  we  ignorant  heathen  must  perish  unless 
we  believe  in  your  Jesus  Christ,  how  could  you  leave  so 
great  a  part  of  the  world,  for  so  many  generations,  to  go 
down  to  perdition,  without  coming  sooner  to  tell  us  of  this 
only  way  in  which  we  can  be  saved?" — What  can  the 
missionary  say  ?  This  is  not  idle  fancy  ;  it  is  matter  of  dis- 
tressing fact.* 

When  a  great  experiment  is  to  be  made  in  natural  philos- 
ophy, the  preparation  of  the  apparatus  to  be  employed  will 
often  occupy  a  longer  time  than  the  experiment  itself.  The 
uninitiated  spectator  is  surprised  at  the  patient  and  laborious 
anxiety  evinced  by  the  experimenter  to  bring  his  instruments 
into  a  state  of  working  perfection.  But  well  he  knows,  from 
many  a  previous  failure,  that  the  presence  of  a  single  particle 
of  matter  foreign  to  the  experiment  is  often  sufficient  to 
vitiate  the  whole  process.  Christ  proposes  the  great  moral 
process  of  drawing  the  world  to  himself;  the  Christian  church 
is  the  apparatus  to  be  employed,  and  worldly  selfishness  or 
sin  the  object  to  be  operated  on.  Do  we  not  see  the  vital 
importance  that  not  a  particle  of  the  thing  to  be  destroyed 
should  adhere  to  the  instrument  employed  to  destroy  it  ?  Do 
we  not  see  the  nature  of  the  fitness  we  need  —  perfect  con- 
trast to  the  world  ?  And  that  this  fitness  is  indispensable  to 
success?  O  for  such  an  instrumentality!  We  ask  not  that 
it  should  consist  at  first  of  many  Christians  —  their  success 
would  not  depend  on  their  number  —  but  of  men  penetrated, 
possessed,  with  the  conviction  that  Christian  consistency  and 
entire  devotedness  to  the  world's  recovery  are  one  and  the 
same  thing ;  that  without  such  intense  devotedness  to  that 

*  The  Claims  of  600,000,000  of  Heathen ;  by  Hall  and  Newell, 
American  missionaries  at  Bombay,  p.  77. 


310        THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

one  object  nothing  morally  great  has  ever  been  achieved  ; 
men  who  feel  that  they  are  not  their  own  as  intensely  as  if 
their  persons  were  marked  and  sprinkled  with  the  blood 
of  Christ;  and  who,  in  the  spirit  of  that  self-consecration, 
should  resolve  that,  by  God's  help,  the  world  should  feel 
their  influence  before  they  die.  O  for  such  an  instrumen- 
tality !     The  church  should  be  converted,  and  the  world  too  ! 

1.  Now,  if  eminent  Christian  devotedness  constitute  the 
great  want  of  the  church  in  its  missionary  relation,  deep  hu- 
mility must  be  regarded  as  our  first  requisite,  both  on  account 
of  that  essential  deficiency,  as  well  as  to  prepare  us  for  greater 
improvement  and  success  in  the  future.  Had  we  "  done  all 
those  things  which  are  commanded  "  us,  it  would  still  have 
been  our  place  to  come  into  our  Master's  presence,  saying, 
"  We  are  unprofitable  servants ;  we  have  done  that  which 
was  our  duty  to  do."  Where,  then,  is  the  depth  of  abasement 
equal  to  the  necessities  of  the  case,  now  that  we  have  almost 
entirely  neglected  that  duty  1  And  yet  where  are  the  tears 
of  the  church  on  account  of  that  neglect  ?  How  much  easier 
it  is  to  find  the  signs  of  self-gratulation  on  account  of  the 
little  which  we  have  done,  than  of  self-condemnation  on  ac- 
count of  the  much  we  have  left  undone?  Where  are  the 
broken-hearted  confessions  which  should  ensue  on  a  thought- 
ful calculation  of  the  souls  which  have  probably  perished,  and 
the  revenue  of  glory  consequently  lost  to  the  name  of  God, 
through  our  want  of  fidelity  to  our  trust  1  Where  is  the  dis- 
position which  might  be  looked  for,  to  ascertain  our  guilty 
omissions,  and  most  crying  wants,  and  to  take  them  into  the 
presence  of  God,  and  cast  ourselves  at  his  feet  in  order  to  our 
forgiveness  and  improvement  ? 

And  yet,  until  these  questions  can  be  answered  satisfac- 
torily, we  have  no  ground  to  expect  the  growing  success  we 
profess  to  desire.  The  law  of  the  divine  economy  on  this 
subject  is,  "  He  that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted,  and 
he  that  exalteth  himself  shall  be  humbled."  God  will  not 
trust  those  with  success  who  are  likely  to  appropriate  the 
glory  to  themselves.  One  of  the  principles  by  which  he  reg- 
ulates this  part  of  his  conduct  is,  to  proportion  the  usefulness 
and  prosperity  of  his  people  according  as  they  are  able  to 
bear  it.  The  measure  of  our  present  success,  then,  is  to  be 
regarded  as  the  measure  of  our  present  humility ;  so  that,  if 
we  would  not  stop  at  the  point  of  usefulness  to  which  we 
have  attained,  nor  be  prepared  for  a  higher  degree  by  a  course 


*       IN    RELATION    TO   MISSIONS.  311 

of  painful  providential  discipline,  we  must  humble  ourselves 
under  the  mighty  hand  of  God.  Eminent  devotedness  to  God 
will  recognize  and  rejoice  in  this  as  a  primary  duty,  while 
the  sincere  performance  of  the  duty  cannot  fail  to  promote 
eminent  devotedness  to  God. 

2.  The  next  requisite  for  the  church  in  its  missionary 
capacity  which  we  venture  to  specify  is,  the  due  appreciation 
of  the  spiritual  nature  of  the  ivork  in  which  we  are  engaged. 
Independently  of  the  danger  on  this  subject  to  which  we  are 
naturally  and  always  liable,  the  present  day  has  dangers  pe- 
culiar to  itself.  Our  claims,  as  the  benefactors  of  mankind, 
are  not,  as  formerly,  passed  by  in  contempt,  or  summarily 
dismissed  by  the  world  as  mischievous  or  chimerical ;  but 
hence  the  danger  of  lowering  our  tone  as  the  servants  of  the 
Most  High  God,  and  of  aiming  to  make  out  a  case  for  its 
commendation  which  will  compromise  our  character  for  fidel- 
ity to  him.  Our  claims  are  not  only  canvassed  by  the  world 
generally,  but  partially  patronized  by  the  great ;  but  let  us 
remember  that,  if  they  have  not  the  mind  of  Christ,  that  which 
constitutes  the  true  distinction  and  glory  of  our  object  is  "  far 
above  out  of  their  sight,"  and  that  what  they  admire  in  it  are 
merely  its  outward  accidents  and  adjuncts.  Nor  do  we  now 
occupy  the  field  of  benevolent  activity  alone ;  a  philanthropic 
philosophy  professes  to  join  us,  to  aim  at  the  same  end  with 
ourselves,  and  to  be  emulous  of  excelling  us  in  benefiting 
mankind ;  but  let  us  remember  that  our  proper  work  is 
unique,  and  that  we  cannot  contest  with  a  worldly  philan- 
thropy without  coming  down  from  our  high  vocation,  and 
forgetting  that  our  great  aim  is,  not  the  temporal,  civil,  or 
social  improvement  of  mankind,  but  their  spiritual  recovery 
to  God. 

But  in  order  to  this,  we  must  sympathize  with  God.  This 
is  our  only  security.  And  yet  how  few  comparatively  do  this  ! 
How  much  more  frequently  do  we  act  from  the  lowest  allow- 
able, rather  than  from  the  highest  possible,  views  of  Christian 
duty  !  How  content  are  we  with  mere  occasional  glimpses 
of  the  loftier  order  of  Christian  motives !  as  if  it  were  quite 
sufficient  to  satisfy  us  if  we  can  thus  assure  ourselves  now 
and  then  of  their  existence.  How  seldom  do  we  stand  and 
gaze  on  our  enterprise  in  the  only  light  in  which  it  is  viewed 
from  heaven ;  as  having  been  revolved  from  eternity  in  the 
mind  of  God  ;  as  asking  the  universe  for  a  theatre;  involving 
the  endless  well-being  of  a  race  of  immortals ;  requiring  the 


312         THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

Prince  of  Life  for  a  sacrifice ;  and  all  spiritual  natures,  even 
the  Infinite  Spirit  himself,  as  its  only  adequate  agency  ;  and 
the  coming  eternity  for  the  full  development  of  its  issues ! 
How  little  do  we  sympathize  with  God  on  that  particular 
point  on  which,  if  on  no  other,  the  strongest  bond  of  union 
might  be  supposed  to  exist  —  compassion  for  depraved,  guilty, 
suffering  souls !  Who  is  there  that  makes  the  burden  of  a 
dying  world  his  own?  that  goes  about  with  "  great  heaviness 
and  continual  sorrow  of  heart,"  oppressed  and  borne  down 
by  the  weight  of  its  woes  ?  Jesus  wept  over  the  guilt  and 
obduracy  of  Jerusalem  :  who  is  there  prepared  to  mingle  their 
tears  with  his  over  the  guilt  and  impending  destruction  of  a 
thousand  cities  wholly  given  to  idolatry  1  Enoch  and  Noah, 
Abraham  and  Moses,  David,  and  Jeremiah,  and  Paul,  evinced 
the  tenderness  and  depth  of  their  compassion  for  men  by 
tears,  entreaties,  and  unappeasable  anguish  of  soul :  who  is 
there  now  that  can  say,  "  Rivers  of  waters  run  down  mine 
eyes,  because  they  keep  not  thy  law  "  ?  Who  now  is  heard 
exclaiming,  "  O  that  my  head  were  waters,  and  mine  eyes 
a  fountain  of  tears,  that  I  might  weep  day  and  night  for  the 
slain  of  the  daughter  of  my  people  "  ?  Who  now  assever- 
ates, "  I  could  wish  myself  accursed  from  Christ  for  my 
brethren  "  ? 

And  yet,  until  we  approach  this  state  of  sympathy  with 
God  on  the  spiritual  and  lofty  character  of  Christian  missions, 
are  we  likely  to  be  eminently  devoted  to  their  prosecution  1 
Will  not  comparatively  trifling  acts  of  service  too  readily  sat- 
isfy our  feeble  sense  of  duty  1  But  what  could  appease  the 
anxiety  of  him  who  was  accustomed  to  stand  in  the  counsels 
of  God,  and  daily  to  look  around  on  mankind  from  the  moral 
elevation  of  the  cross,  or  to  view  them  in  the  light  of  the 
judgment  fires  —  what  but  his  total  consecration  to  the  work 
of  their  rescue  ?  Were  this  state  of  mind  to  become  general 
in  the  church,  one  of  its  first  effects  would  be  that  we  should 
think  much  more  highly  and  honorably  than  we  now  do  of 
the  missionary  character  and  office.  Let  a  ship  be  perishing 
within  sight  of  an  assembled  multitude  on  the  shore,  and  let 
some  of  these  volunteer  an  attempt  to  save  the  sinking  crew,  — 
with  what  strained  and  earnest  looks  are  they  followed  by 
those  who  have  sent  and  cheered  them  off,  and  how  deep  and 
panting  the  desires  for  their  success !  The  missionaries  of 
the  cross,  in  the  case  supposed,  would  carry  with  them  the 
sympathies  of  the  church.     Their  office  would  be  regarded 


IN    RELATION    TO   MISSIONS.  313 

as  the  highest  and  holiest  out  of  heaven.  Selecting  them, 
as  we  should,  within  the  view  and  hearing  of  the  perishing 
millions,  how  careful  should  we  be,  as  far  as  it  depended  on 
us,  that  none  but  the  most  compassionate  and  devoted  men 
went  forth !  The  Saul  and  the  Barnabas  of  each  Christian 
society  would  be  deemed  the  most  eligible  to  the  office. 
And  having  despatched  them,  what  holy  anxieties  would  fol- 
low them  !  and  what  earnest  intercessions  would  ascend  for 
their  success  at  the  footstool  of  grace  !  Hitherto,  the  Chris- 
tian missionary  may  be  said  to  have  raised  instrumentally  the 
character  of  the  church ;  but  never  till  the  church,  eminent 
in  its  devotedness,  imparts  its  character  to  the  missionary, 
will  the  sympathy  between  them  be  complete ;  and  in  order 
to  this,  we  must  appreciate  more  highly  the  spiritual  nature 
of  the  work  in  which  we  are  engaged. 

3.  It  must  be  obvious  that  whatever  else  may  be  necessary, 
a  vivid  and  all-pervading  apprehension  of  the  missionary  con- 
stitution of  the  Christian  church,  and  of  the  corresponding 
obligations  of  each  of  its  members,  is  of  the  first  importance. 
"  But  do  not  the  various  aggressive  efforts  recorded  in  the 
preceding  pages  show  that  we  have  already  recovered  that 
apprehension  1 "  To  a  very  limited  extent.  Until  recently, 
the  Christian  church  was  well  nigh  as  local  and  stationary  as 
the  Jewish.  And  is  not  the  clear  apprehension  of  its  mis- 
sionary design  still  confined  to  a  small  minority  1  Or,  if  felt 
by  the  many,  felt  only  as  a  passing  impulse,  the  result  of  an 
annual  appeal,  rather  than  as  a  personal  obligation  and  a 
universal  principle  ?  Or,  if  felt  as  a  claim,  felt  as  one  which 
may  be  easily  devolved,  and  discharged  by  proxy  ? 

Now,  the  constitution  of  the  Christian  church  supposes  that 
every  individual  member  is  prepared  to  take  his  post  as  an 
agent  for  Christ.  It  does  not  allow  the  indolent  to  fold  his 
arms,  and  transfer  his  duty  to  another.  It  does  not  permit 
the  fashionable  professor  to  wait  till  Christian  labor  becomes 
genteel.  It  does  not  permit  the  wealthy  to  buy  off  his  per- 
sonal services  by  the  bribe  of  large  donations.  It  requires 
both  —  his  activity  and  his  donations  too.  Whether  it  con- 
tains a  man  for  every  post  or  not,  it  is  certain  that  it  contains 
a  post  for  every  man ;  and  hence  the  first  inquiry  which  some 
Christian  communities  make  of  a  newly-admitted  member  is, 
"  What  shall  your  post  be  1 " 

Were  the  writer  to  be  asked  to  what  it  was  owing,  chiefly, 
that  the  early  triumphs  of  the  gospel  were  arrested  —  how  it 
27 


314         THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

was  that  Christian  usefulness  died  out  of  the  world,  and  piety 
out  of  the  church  —  he  would  suggest  that  it  was  to  be  as- 
cribed principally  to  that  master-device  of  Satan  by  which  the 
Christian  professor  was  led  to  suppose  that  he  could  do  every 
thing  by  proxy ;  that  there  was  an  order  of  men  on  whom, 
for  a  certain  consideration,  he  could  devolve  his  duties  both 
to  God  and  to  man.  Now,  this,  we  hardly  need  remind  the 
reader,  is  substantial  Popery.  The  very  essence  of  that  system 
consists  in  undertaking  to  exempt  its  votaries  from  their  per- 
sonal responsibility  —  in  finding  a  price  for  every  duty,  and  a 
discharge  from  every  claim  of  personal  accountableness.  We 
pride  ourselves,  indeed,  in  our  Protestantism ;  but  if  this 
representation  of  Popery  be  correct,  it  is  high  time  to  inquire 
from  how  much  of  that  enormous  system  we  have  been 
rescued.  For  just  as  much  of  it  as  still  cleaves  to  us,  by  just 
so  much  are  we  effectually  disabled  from  doing  the  first 
works,  and  emulating  the  first  days  of  the  Christian  church. 
Now,  judging  from  the  past,  we  should  say,  that  the  Reforma- 
tion rescued  us  from  only  one  half  of  the  evil  —  from  that 
part  which  blinded  men  to  a  sense  of  their  personal  concern 
in  the  affairs  of  their  own  salvation.  But  while  the  Protes- 
tant wonders  at  the  infatuation  of  the  Papist  in  imagining 
that  any  thing  can  exempt  him  from  the  necessity  of  personal 
diligence  in  seeking  his  own  salvation,  are  not  we  the  objects 
of  equal  wonder  in  acting  so  generally  as  if  we  thought  any 
thing  could  exempt  us  from  the  duty  of  personal  activity  in 
seeking  the  salvation  of  others?  If  the  one  is  essential 
Popery,  equally  so,  in  spirit,  is  the  other  also.  Glorious, 
therefore,  as  the  Reformation  was  for  the  church,  in  rescuing 
its  members  from  the  grasp  of  a  spiritual  despotism,  and 
making  each  one  feel  the  necessity  of  personal  faith  and  per- 
sonal holiness,  as  glorious  will  that  Reformation  be  for  the 
world  which  shall  complete  the  work  of  deliverance,  by  res- 
cuing them  also  from  the  grasp  of  selfishness,  and  making 
each  one  feel  his  accountability  to  God  for  personal  activity 
in  the  work  of  human  salvation. 

But,  in  order  to  this,  the  doctrine  of  individual  Christian 
obligation  must  be  clearly  understood,  and  generally  felt. 
Until  the  Christian  sees  that  it  is  not  rhetorically  but  most 
strictly  true,  that  he  is  not  his  own,  he  will  be  often  acting  as 
if  his  own  will  were  his  only  law.  Even  when  he  sees  theo- 
retically that  he  is  the  property  of  God,  unless  he  remember, 
at  the  same  time,  the  subduing  nature  of  that  price  by  which 


IN    RELATION    TO   MISSIONS.  315 

he  has  been  bought,  he  will  often  act  from  a  stern  sense  of 
duty,  instead  of  feeling  constrained  by  the  power  of  love,  and 
will  be  tempted  to  reduce  the  amount  of  his  service  as  much 
as  he  can,  without  refusing  it  entirely,  instead  of  presenting 
himself  a  living  sacrifice  unto  God. 

But  even  in  addition  to  this,  it  is  necessary  that  he  should 
feel  that  he  is  redeemed  for  a  specific  end;  an  end  which 
leaves  no  moment  of  his  time  unclaimed,  and  no  property  of 
his  nature  untaxed.  Never,  till  every  Christian  feels  himself 
as  much  ordained  to  diffuse  the  gospel  as  the  minister  is  or- 
dained to  preach  it ;  never,  till  every  church  regards  itself  as 
a  society  organized  expressly  for  that  diffusion,  will  its  mem- 
bers be  aware  of  its  vast  capabilities,  in  the  hand  of  God,  for 
blessing  the  world  !  What  but  this  feeling  in  the  hearts  pf  a 
few  has  originated  all  the  Christian  instrumentality  which  at 
this  moment  is  at  work  ?  And  if  a  sense  of  responsibility  for 
personal  activity  in  only  a  few  instances  has  led  to  so  much, 
what  might  we  not  hope,  under  God,  from  the  individual  and 
united  activity  of  the  universal  church ! 

4.  In  order  to  maintain  and  enlarge  our  sense  of  Chris- 
tian obligation,  missionary  information  should  be  more  widely 
circulated,  and  more  seriously  pondered.  What  Christian 
could  be  insensible  either  to  his  own  obligations,  op  to  the 
crying  wants  of  the  heathen,  at  the  mouth  of  the  pit  of  per- 
dition 1  Now,  the  direct  tendency  of  all  the  missionary  ac- 
counts of  heathenism,  when  rightly  considered,  is  to  make  us 
feel  that  around  that  gulf  the  idolatrous  world  is  assembled, 
and  that,  but  for  the  interposing  grace  of  Christ,  there  should 
we  have  been  mingled  with  them.  We  have  admitted,  in- 
deed, in  a  previous  page,  that  information  from  the  mission- 
ary field  is  periodically  and  increasingly  diffused,  and  that  a 
missionary  literature  for  the  rising  race  is  in  the  course  of 
rapid  formation  ;  nor  can  we  fail  to  regard  this  as  tending  to 
the  end  at  which  we  now  aim.  Our  great  concern  is,  that 
Christians  generally  would  lay  the  moral  statistics  of  the 
heathen  world  to  heart ;  that  they  would  not  merely  read  a 
page  or  an  anecdote  now  and  then,  but  would  regularly 
peruse  a  portion  of  the  accounts  transmitted  as  if  endorsed 
by  the  hand  of  Providence  for  them,  to  be  taken  into  the 
closet  and  read  at  the  throne  of  grace.  Mere  cursory  read- 
ing can  only  produce  evanescent  impressions.  And  hence, 
let  the  members  of  any  Christian  congregation,  even  of  one 
assembled  on  a  missionary  occasion,  be  taken  and  examined 


316         THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

on  the  subject  of  Christian  missions  —  how  small  the  num- 
ber of  those  who  could  render  an  account  of  even  the  more 
recent  and  familiar  facts  in  its  history ;  and  how  much 
smaller  the  number  of  those  who  have  so  far  made  it  a  study 
as  to  have  a  single  question  to  ask  concerning  it,  or  a  single 
suggestion  to  offer  for  its  improvement ! 

And  why  is  it  thus  1  And  how  long  shall  it  remain  ?  Till 
we  not  merely  listen  to  an  occasional  appeal  on  the  subject, 
but  take  it  in  all  its  appalling  magnitude  into  our  stated  and 
devout  consideration  before  God.  Till  we  read  the  history 
and  geography  of  the  heathen  nations  with  a  view  to  it,  and 
study  it  in  maps.  Till  we  make  it  a  standing  topic  of  Chris- 
tian conversation ;  and,  like  the  primitive  saints,  repair  to 
the  missionary  assembly  with  minds,  not  requiring  additional 
excitement,  but  already  filled  with  intense  interest.  Till  we 
have  laid  the  state  of  the  heathen  world  upon  our  naked 
hearts,  and  vividly  pictured  its  miseries  to  the  eye  of  our 
mind,  as  an  object  at  which  habitually  to  gaze.  Would  the 
Almighty  affect  his  prophet  with  the  spiritual  death  of  the 
Jewish  nation  ?  He  called  him  to  look  on  a  valley  full  of  dry 
bones.  Was  the  spirit  of  the  apostle,  when  at  Athens,  stirred 
within  him  1  It  was  when  he  saw  the  city  wholly  given  to 
idolatry*  Did  Jesus  weep  over  Jerusalem?  It  was  when  he 
drew  near  and  beheld  the  city.  And  if  we  would  be  duly 
impressed  with  the  spiritual  destitution  of  mankind,  and  with 
the  consequent  urgency  of  missionary  claims,  we  must  look, 
and  gaze,  and  dwell,  on  the  subject.  By  a  well-known  law 
of  our  nature,  our  eye  will  soon  affect  our  heart ;  and,  by  a 
gracious  law  of  the  divine  economy,  that  compassionate  emo- 
tion will  be  turned  into  practical  effort  and  missionary 
success. 

5.  The  preceding  considerations  suggest  the  existence  of 
another  want — a  greater  depth  of  personal  piety.  Fears  are 
entertained  by  many  Christians  lest  religion,  in  the  present 
day,  should  be  made  to  consist  more  in  imparting  than  in 
receiving.  While  they  would  not  have  it  less  abroad  for  use- 
ful purposes,  they  question  whether  it  is  not  too  little  at  home. 
They  are  apprehensive  lest  our  spiritual  expenditure  should 
be  exceeding  our  spiritual  receipts.  The  ground  of  these 
fears  may  be  right  or  wrong.  If  they  arise  from  the  idea 
that  Christian  activity  and  the  growth  of  personal  piety  are 
naturally  incompatible,  so  that  attention  to  the  one  necessa- 
rily involves  the  proportionate  neglect  of  the  other,  they  are 


IN   RELATION   TO   MISSIONS.  317 

utterly  unwarranted.  For  not  only  were  the  most  active  ser- 
vants of  God,  as  described  in  Scripture,  the  most  eminent  for 
spirituality  and  devotion,  but  their  very  activity  formed  a  part 
of  the  means  by  which  their  spirituality  was  sustained.  If, 
however,  those  fears  arise  from  the  well-known  tendency  of 
our  nature  to  substitute  a  morality  however  ascetic,  a  ritual 
however  irksome,  or  a  philanthropy  however  costly,  in  the 
stead  of  personal  piety,  and  to  mistake  it  for  piety,  they  are 
not  unfounded.  But  whatever  the  grounds  of  fear,  it  cannot 
be  denied,  and  need  not  be  concealed,  that  the  danger  appre- 
hended exists  —  the  danger  of  religion  losing  in  depth  what 
it  gains  in  surface. 

Nor  do  we  fear  lest,  in  saying  this,  we  should  damp  the 
missionary  zeal  of  the  church.  On  the  contrary,  our  aim  is 
to  render  that  zeal  more  scriptural  and  effective ;  for  as  long 
as  it  remains  a  principle  of  divine  appointment  that  personal 
piety  is  the  proper  foundation  of  relative  usefulness,  he  who 
assists  in  raising  the  church  nearer  to  God  is  enabling  it  to 
act  more  beneficially  upon  the  world.  Hence  the  wisdom  of 
the  inspired  Psalmist  in  praying  for  the  prosperity  of  the 
church  as  preparatory  to  the  conversion  of  the  world  :  "  God 
be  merciful  unto  us,  and  bless  us ;  and  cause  his  face  to  shine 
upon  us :  that  thy  way  may  be  known  upon  earth,  thy  saving 
health  among  all  nations."  It  is  observable  that  while  the 
calling  of  the  apostles  is  placed,  by  one  evangelist,  in  imme- 
diate connection  with  the  command  that  we  pray  the  Lord  of 
the  harvest  for  an  increase  of  laborers,  *  it  is  described  by 
another  as  immediately  following  a  whole  night  spent  by  our 
blessed  Lord  in  prayer  to  God.  f  Thus  the  foundation  of  mis- 
sionary activity  was  laid  in  the  very  element  of  prayer.  It 
was  when  the  apostles  had  been  day  after  day  "  with  one 
accord  in  one  place"  calling  upon  God,  that  they  came  forth 
to  enjoy  pentecostal  successes,  and  to  reap  the  field  of  the 
world.  And  as  long  as  it  is  true  that  spiritual  influences, 
like  the  water,  which  is  their  material  emblem,  cannot  rise 
above  their  own  level,  the  higher  their  source,  the  wider  will 
be  their  diffusion  through  the  various  channels  of  Christian 
activity.  While  this  activity,  by  the  occasions  with  which  it 
will  be  constantly  furnishing  us  for  renewed  application  to 
God,  will  be  the  means  of  keeping  us  in  habitual  communi- 
cation with  the  Fountain  of  spiritual  life ;   so  that  by  action 

*  Matt.  ix.  38;  x.  1.  t  Luke  vi.  12,  13. 

27* 


318         THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

and  reaction  our  piety  will  give  activity  to  our  benevolence, 
and  our  benevolence  invigorate  our  piety. 

6.  Were  the  preceding  requisites  supplied,  one  of  the 
first  effects  apparent  would  be  an  increase  of  holy  wisdom  — 
wisdom  to  mark  the  characteristic  features  of  the  age  and  the 
movements  of  the  world,  to  appreciate  the  peculiar  position 
of  the  church  in  relation  to  them,  and  to  apprehend  and 
obey  the  indications  of  God  concerning  them.  The  Savior 
may  be  regarded  as  saying  to  his  people,  but  especially  to 
his  ministers,  in  every  age,  "  Can  you  not  discern  the  signs 
of  the  times  ?  "  Each  period  is  preceded  and  attended  with 
its  own  peculiar  signs,  and  it  is  a  part  of  their  duty  to 
mark  them,  —  that  to  the  inquiry  of  the  church,  ''Watch- 
man, what  of  the  night  ? "  they  might  be  able  to  return  the 
correct  and  seasonable  reply.  Never  was  there  an  age  when 
the  wide  field  of  human  misery  was  so  fully  explored,  and  so 
accurately  measured,  as  at  present;  and  consequently  there 
never  was  a  time  when  the  obligation  of  the  Christian  church 
to  bring  out  all  its  divine  resources  and  remedies,  was  so 
pressing  and  so  great ;  hence  the  importance  that  its  minis- 
ters should  be  prepared  to  bring  forth  the  strong  reasons  of 
the  gospel  for  entire  self-consecration.  Never  was  there  an 
age  when  science  attempted  so  much  and  promised  so  largely 
—  challenging  the  gospel,  in  effect,  to  run  with  it  a  race  of 
philanthropy;  and,  consequently,  never  was  there  a  time 
when  it  so  much  concerned  the  church  to  vindicate  her 
character  as  the  true  angel  of  mercy  to  the  world ;  and  to  do 
this,  not  by  decrying  the  human  expedients  which  unen- 
lightened man  employs,  but  by  surpassing  them  in  the  stren- 
uous application  of  God's  remedy.  Never  was  there  a  time 
when  the  elements  of  universal  society  exhibited  so  much 
restlessness  and  change,  and  when  the  field  of  the  world  was 
so  extensively  broken  up  and  ready  for  cultivation ;  and,  con- 
sequently, never  was  there  a  time  which  so  loudly  called  on 
the  Christian  sower  to  go  forth  and  sow;  but  as  long  as 
the  laborers  are  comparatively  few,  a  wise  selection  of  the 
spheres  to  be  occupied  is  of  the  first  importance.  And  if 
there  never  was  a  time  since  the  days  of  the  apostles  when 
the  various  sections  of  the  church  were  so  aggressive  in  their 
movements,  the  obligation  is  proportionate  on  each  commu- 
nity to  mark  the  operation  of  the  others,  not  to  envy,  but 
to  learn  from  their  experience,  and  to  emulate  their  excel- 
lence. 


IN    RELATION    TO    MISSIONS.  319 

To  a  mind  alive  to  the  erection  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
in  the  earth,  numerous  questions  of  surpassing  interest  are 
always  present.  Some  of  those  which  engaged  the  attention 
of  the  fathers  of  modern  missions,  the  events  of  Providence 
have  already  answered  and  set  at  rest.  Of  those  deserving 
consideration  at  present,  we  might  specify  such  as  these  — 
whether  or  not  the  claims  of  the  ancient  people  of  God  are  en- 
gaging a  sufficient  measure  of  Christian  attention ;  whether, 
considering  the  geographical  position  of  Russia,  stretching 
across  the  whole  northern  continent  of  Asia,  from  the  banks 
of  the  Vistula  to  the  shores  of  America,  as  the  dominion  of 
Britain  stretches  across  the  south,  and  thus  having  between 
it  and  us  five  sixths  of  the  heathen  world — something  should 
not  be  attempted  towards  purifying  its  church,  and  render- 
ing it  a  missionary  co-worker  with  ourselves  for  their  salva- 
tion; what  the  design  of  God  may  be  in  the  remarkable 
distribution  of  Christian  communities — old  and  corrupt 
though  they  be — all  over  the  Mahometan  empire;  whether, 
without  diminishing  our  endeavors  for  heathendom,  more 
ought  not  to  be  done  for  Christendom ;  what  are  the  com- 
parative claims  of  education  and  preaching  in  our  missionary 
operations ;  whether  sufficient  importance  is  yet  attached  to 
the  preparation  of  a  native  agency  in  the  various  parts  of 
the  missionary  field;  and  whether  the  time  has  not  come 
when  the  standard  of  education  for  our  missionaries  might 
be  advantageously  raised,  especially  in  the  department  of 
science.  These  are  only  a  few  of  a  great  number  of  topics 
of  growing  interest ;  most  of  which  are  likely,  at  no  distant 
time,  to  force  themselves  on  our  attention  in  a  manner  for 
which  present  consideration,  and  devout  inquiry  of  God,  can 
alone  prepare  us. 

But  if  there  never  was  a  time  when  the  great  missionary 
subject  teemed  with  more  interesting  inquiries,  it  is  equally 
true,  that  never  was  there  a  land  blessed  with  such  peculiar 
facilities,  as  Britain,  for  answering  those  inquiries,  and  for 
obeying  the  calls  of  Providence  to  give  the  gospel  to  the 
world.  Why  is  it  that  the  gospel  is  at  this  time  in  trust  with 
a  people  whose  ships  cover  the  seas  —  who  are  the  merchants 
of  the  world  ?  Has  He  who  drew  the  boundaries  of  Judea 
with  his  own  finger,  who  selected  the  precise  spot  for  the 
Temple,  who  did  every  thing  for  the  Jewish  church  with  de- 
sign, abandoned  the  Christian  church  to  accident?  And  if 
not,  —  if  he  has  placed  the  gospel  among  us  with  design, 


320  THE    WANTS   OF   THE   CHURCH 

what  can  the  nature  of  that  design  be,  but  that  it  should  be 
borne  to  the  world  on  the  wings  of  every  wind  that  blows  ? 
Let  us  ask  ourselves  why  it  is  that  Britain  and  her  religious 
ally,  America,  should  divide  the  seas,  and  thus  hold  the  keys 
of  the  world.  Were  we  but  awake  to  the  designs  of  God, 
and  to  our  own  responsibility,  we  should  hear  him  say,  "  I 
have  put  you  in  possession  of  the  seas ;  put  the  world  in  pos- 
session of  my  gospel."  And  every  ship  we  sent  out  would 
be  a  missionary  church  —  like  the  ark  of  the  deluge,  a  floating 
temple  of  God  —  bearing  in  its  bosom  the  seeds  of  a  new 
creation.  Ours  is  indeed  a  post  of  responsibility  and  of 
honor !  On  us  have  accumulated  all  the  advantages  of  the 
past,  and  on  us  lies  the  great  stress  of  the  present.  The 
world  is  waiting  breathless  on  our  movements ;  and  every  sign 
of  Providence  finds  a  voice  to  urge  us  on. 

And  in  saying  that  a  missionary  church,  to  be  effective, 
should  be  thus  wise  to  mark,  and  quick  to  avail  itself  of,  every 
providential  indication,  what  are  we  saying,  after  all,  but 
that  God  is  conducting  the  affairs  of  the  universe  on  a  plan ; 
that  in  every  age  that  plan  advances ;  that  his  people  are  to 
mark  the  signs  of  that  advance,  and  to  fall  in  with  it ;  and 
that,  in  proportion  as  they  adjust  their  movements  to  his,  link 
themselves  on  to  his  plans,  and  keep  pace  with  his  progress, 
they  move  with  the  force  of  Omnipotence  simply  by  moving 
in  a  line  and  in  harmony  with  it?  O  for  celestial  wisdom 
to  place  ourselves  in  harmony  with  Providence,  and  to  seize 
the  crisis  which  has  come  for  blessing  the  world  ! 

7.  One  of  the  first  wants  which  that  wisdom,  of  which  we 
have  been  speaking,  would  discover,  and  one  of  the  first 
steps  to  which  it  would  lead,  would  be  a  spirit  of  greater 
devotedness  to  the  missionary  work  among  ministers  at  home. 
If  a  considerable  number  of  those  who  are  now  preparing 
for  the  Christian  ministry,  and  of  those  who  have  already 
entered  the  sacred  office,  were  to  devote  themselves,  as  one 
man,  to  the  spiritual  rescue  of  the  heathen,  who  can  calcu- 
late the  impulse  which  would  be  given  to  the  general  cause 
of  religion  1  What  exalted  piety  would  it  evince ;  and  what 
an  increase  of  energy  and  devotion  would  it  tend  to  call 
forth!  No  fear  need  be  entertained  for  the  safety  of  the 
work  at  home;  the  spiritual  efficiency  of  those  who  would 
find  it  obligatory  to  remain  at  their  present  post  would  be 
increased  in  a  far  greater  ratio  than  the  numerical  reduction 
of  their  ranks ;  many  a  youth  now  devoted  to  secular  pursuits 


IN    RELATION    TO   MISSIONS.  321 

would  give  himself  up  to  the  service  of  God  ;  and,  more  than 
all,  the  act  would  discover  so  high  a  degree  of  devotedness 
to  God,  that  he  would  be  able,  consistently  with  his  charac- 
ter, to  say,  in  acts  of  unusual  blessing,  what  he  has  already 
declared  in  words  of  promise,  "  Them  that  honor  me  I  will 
honor." 

There  is  reason  to  fear  that,  at  present,  the  number  of 
ministers  adequately  acquainted  with  the  missionary  aspect 
of  the  church,  and  interested  in  it,  is  comparatively  small  ; 
that  the  subject  is  introduced  to  the  attention  of  the  people 
too  exclusively  at  stated  times,  on  annual  occasions,  and  in 
connection  with  pecuniary  collections;  and  too  seldom  as 
forming  a  legitimate  topic  of  ordinary  ministerial  discourse, 
and  to  every  part  of  which  the  heart  of  the  church  should 
be  supposed  to  be  ever  ready  to  vibrate  and  respond.  And 
yet  to  this  advocacy,  partial  and  feeble  though  it  be,  it  is 
owing,  under  God,  that  the  missionary  enterprise  has  risen  to 
its  present  position  in  the  church.  What,  then,  might  we  not 
hope  to  see  result,  were  deeds  added  to  words,  and  personal 
devotements  to  arguments  and  professions !  Let  them  be 
respectfully  reminded  that,  besides  their  special  relation  to 
their  respective  churches,  they  and  their  churches  sustain 
a  universal  relation ;  that  the  gospel  they  preach  embraces 
all  interests ;  that  the  pulpit  they  occupy  stands,  in  a  sense, 
in  the  centre  of  the  universe  ;  that  there  are  lines  of  relation- 
ship connecting  it  with  every  object  and  event  within  that 
vast  circumference ;  that  they  are  placed  in  that  central  posi- 
tion to  watch  and  report  to  their  people  the  progress  of 
events,  to  impress  on  them  the  dignity  and  responsibility  of 
their  character  as  the  agents  of  "  Him  for  whom  are  all  things, 
and  by  whom  are  all  things ; "  and  thus  to  induce  them,  as 
their  highest  honor  and  happiness,  to  fall  in  with  that  vast 
procession,  including  all  orders  and  all  worlds,  which  even 
now  is  moving  on  to  the  one  appointed  spot,  where  all  the  dia- 
dems of  the  universe  shall  be  laid  at  the  feet  of  Him  on 
whose  head  already  are  many  crowns.  "  This  is  a  true 
saying,  If  a  man  desire  the  office  of  a  bishop,  he  desireth  a 
good  work  ;  "  but  let  them  remember  that  he  who  said  this, 
regarded  a  participation  in  the  work  of  missions  as  a  higher 
distinction  still :  "  Unto  me,  who  am  less  than  the  least  of 
all  saints,  is  this  grace  given,  that  I  should  preach  among  the 
Gentiles  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ."  Let  them  esti- 
mate the  missionary  office  as  highly  as  he  did,  and  remember 


322  THE    WANTS    OF   THE   CHURCH 

how  much  may  depend  on  their  adoption  of  it ;  much  in  the 
church,  for  while  the  private  Christian  is  to  be  an  example 
to  the  world,  they  are  to  be  "  an  ensample  to  the  flock  "  —  a 
model  among  models ;  and  much  in  the  world ;  for  their 
central  station  and  official  character  invest  them  with  influ- 
ence which  renders  their  every  movement  an  object  of  interest 
to  superior  beings,  and  which,  in  reference  to  the  heathen 
world,  may  implicate  the  everlasting  welfare  of  myriads.  Only 
let  these  considerations  be  devoutly  laid  to  heart,  and  many  a 
minister  who  now  supposes  himself  bound  to  remain  at  home 
would  be  heard  saying,  "  Here  am  I ;  send  me; "  others,  who 
could  not  go  abroad,  would  become  missionaries  at  home  ; 
while  the  church  generally  would  find  her  highest  interests 
benefited,  as  much  as  by  any  event  which  has  occurred  since 
apostolic  days. 

8.  Another  requisite  is  Christian  union.  We  have  already 
intimated  that  it  is  very  much  owing  to  the  fraternal  influence 
shed  on  the  various  denominations  of  Christians  by  mission- 
ary and  kindred  operations,  that  even  a  vestige  of  visible 
union  remains.  And  how  is  it  that  on  particular  occasions 
we  are  induced  to  quit  our  denominational  camps,  and  to  pro- 
claim the  truce  of  God?  By  paying  greater  deference  to 
the  will  of  Christ  than  to  the  claims  of  party ;  by  looking  out 
on  a  world  perishing ;  by  erecting  the  cross  for  its  salvation, 
and  rallying  around  it;  in  a  word,  by  reverting  practically 
to  the  primary  design  of  the  church.  Who  has  not  been 
ready  to  say  at  such  times,  Would  that  the  whole  church 
could  be  converted  into  a  Christian  missionary  society,  and 
meet  in  that  capacity  alone ! 

The  union  wanted  is  not  the  union  of  one  day  in  a  year, 
but  the  union  of  every  day ;  not  the  hollow  friendship  which 
merely  forbears  to  misrepresent  or  to  injure  those  who  "  fol- 
low not  with  us,"  but  the  Christian  sympathy  which  sincerely 
mingles  alike  in  their  sorrows  and  their  joys ;  not  merely  a 
oneness  of  purpose,  but,  as  far  as  practicable,  a  union  of 
means  for  the  attainment  of  that  purpose.  One  church 
abounds  more,  it  may  be,  in  the  zeal  which  burns  for  active 
exertion  ;  another,  in  the  wisdom  which  is  profitable  to  direct ; 
and  a  third,  in  the  funds  which  are  necessary  to  support  the 
holy  war.  Here,  sympathy  with  each  other's  wants,  by  unit- 
ing their  respective  means,  would  happily  supply  them  all ; 
while  a  spirit  of  division  makes  that  which  is  already  little,  still 
less.     "  One  rule  of  action  there  is,"  says  a  distinguished 


IN    RELATION    TO    MISSIONS.  323 

American  missionary,  —  Abeel,  —  "  which,  if  observed  by  all 
sects,  would  result  in  the  greatest  benefit  to  the  church  and 
the  world.  It  involves  no  sacrifice  of  party  interests,  and  it 
is  the  only  plan  which,  while  Christians  remain  in  distinct 
communities,  does  not  sacrifice  the  interests  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom  to  mere  sectarian  aggrandizement.  In  selecting  their 
spheres  of  action,  let  each  denomination  pass  by  the  place 
already  occupied,  and  fix  upon  those  where  their  services  are 
most  needed.  Let  it  be  a  mutual  understanding  that,  if  edu- 
cation or  predilection  dispose  the  inhabitants  of  any  part  of  a 
country  to  a  particular  sect,  all  others  will  yield  the  ground. 
What  endless  collision  and  confusion  this  would  prevent ! 
What  desirable  consequences  it  would  produce  !  If  the  atten- 
tion of  Christians  could,  only  be  diverted  from  each  other, 
and  from  the  places  already  occupied,  and  fixed  in  deep  com- 
passion upon  the  destitute  parts  of  the  world,  how  soon  their 
dying  fellow-men  in  every  land  would  feel  the  quickening 
influence ! " 

It  is  in  vain  to  plead  the  beneficial  rivalry  of  sects.  This 
only  shows  that  we  are  so  much  accustomed  to  our  divisions, 
that  we  can  see  beauty  in  that  which  forms  our  deformity 
and  disgrace.  But  let  us  see  the  natural  fruits  of  past  divi- 
sions in  the  fact  that  Mahometanism,  Popery,  and  Irreligion, 
still  divide  the  civilized  world  between  them ;  that  reformed 
Christianity  finds,  on  numbering  her  followers,  that  she  still 
stands  in  an  insignificant  minority.  And  are  we  to  suppose 
that  what  has  hitherto  proved  the  curse  of  the  church  is  now 
converted  into  a  blessing  1  A  spirit  of  disunion  is  still  dis- 
honoring Christianity  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  By  confirm- 
ing the  irreligious  in  their  impiety,  disheartening  the  sincere 
inquirer  after  the  truth,  and  blinding  numbers  with  the  idea 
that  the  sectarian  spirit  is  true  piety,  it  is  still  ruinous 
to  the  souls  of  men ;  by  dividing  our  limited  instrumen- 
tality at  home,  and  tending  to  counteract  our  Christian  in- 
fluence abroad,  and,  incomparably  more  than  all,  by  griev- 
ing the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  it  is  still  enfeebling  and  endan- 
gering our  missionary  operations,  and  delaying  the  conversion 
of  the  world.  It  is  in  vain  to  say  that  but  little  disagreement 
exists  as  yet  among  our  Christian  agents  abroad ;  the  seeds 
of  discord  only  ask  for  time,  and  they  will  not  fail  to  bear 
their  proper  fruit.  It  is  in  vain  to  urge,  that  good  is  done 
notwithstanding  our  disunion;  the  partial  good  which  is 
effected  abroad,  is  effected  by  merging  the  disputes  at  home 


324  THE    WANTS   OF   THE   CHURCH 

—  in  fact,  by  uniting  —  or  by  pretending  to  a  degree  of  fra- 
ternity which  the  relative  state  of  parties  at  home  will  not 
justify.  And  would  not  a  knowledge  of  our  differences  there 
be  to  a  great  extent  fatal  to  our  usefulness  ?  Would  it  not 
shake  the  confidence  of  the  religious  novitiate  there ;  and 
embroil  the  churches,  and  cover  the  breast  of  the  idolater 
with  an  additional  coat  of  resistance  to  the  arrows  of  the 
Lord;  and  arm  the  Brahmin,  the  sceptic,  and  every  hostile 
hand  with  a  new  weapon  of  attack  1 

On  the  other  hand,  how  greatly  would  the  mutual  regard 
and  sympathetic  cooperation  of  which  we  speak,  tend  to 
increase  our  capacity  for  missionary  usefulness!  By  pro- 
moting our  own  piety  and  happiness ;  for,  having  ceased 
from  the  comparative  trifles  which  now  vex  and  engross  us, 
we  should  feel  more  than  ever  the  force  of  high  and  enno- 
bling motives ;  breath,  now  wasted  in  controversy,  would  be 
turned  into  the  incense  of  prayer  ;  and  the  only  spirit  invoked 
in  the  church  would  be  the  Spirit  of  grace.  By  the  increase 
of  sanctified  agency  which  it  would  set  at  liberty  from  the 
present  imprisonment  of  controversy,  and  send  forth  into  the 
field  of  the  world.  By  a  wise  combination  of  means,  so  that 
resources  which,  divided,  are  not  equal  to  the  religious  culti- 
vation of  a  district,  would,  when  united,  be  equal  to  an 
attempt  on  a  continent.  By  affecting  the  public  mind,  and 
preparing  the  world  to  yield  to  the  claims  of  the  Son  of  God ; 
for  Christian  union  is  not  merely  a  Scripture  doctrine ;  its 
practical  and  visible  exhibition  is  evidently  intended,  accord- 
ing to  the  prayer  of  Christ,  to  be  the  grand  means  for  the 
conversion  of  the  world,  and  a  leading  design  of  the  Chris- 
tian dispensation.  Such  a  union,  therefore,  as  that  of  which 
we  speak,  would  humbly  challenge  his  blessing,  for  it  would 
be  a  substantial  fulfilment  of  his  prayer.  And,  then,  how 
directly  would  it  increase  the  capacity  of  Christians  for  use- 
fulness, by  increasing  their  capacity  for  the  reception  and 
cooperation  of  that  Holy  Spirit,  who  alone  can  crown  their 
activity  with  success ! 

In  order  that  the  slain  in  the  valley  of  vision  might  become 
an  efficient  body,  it  was  necessary,  not  only  that  life  should 
enter  into  each  separately,  —  they  must  fall  into  order  with  a 
view  to  the  union  and  organization  of  the  whole ;  and  then, 
as  an  exceeding  great  army,  a  skilful  commander  alone  was 
wanting  to  lead  them  forth  to  conquest.  The  leader  of  the 
hosts  of  God  is  already  waiting.     Let  them  be  not  only  com- 


IN    RELATION    TO   MISSIONS.  325 

pact  in  their  several  sections,  but  let  those  sections  be  united 
with  each  other,  and  as  one  body  he  will  lead  them  forth, 
"  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners."  Nothing  shall  be  too 
great  for  them  to  attempt ;  and  every  conflict  shall  be  a 
victory. 

9.  And  is  not  greater  pecuniary  liberality  icanted?  To 
assert,  indeed,  that  it  is  not  already  on  the  increase,  would 
only  evince  insensibility  to  the  obvious  facts  we  ourselves 
have  adduced,  and  ingratitude  to  the  great  Head  of  the 
church.  But  while  the  increase  of  funds  which  our  great 
benevolent  institutions  have  almost  annually  to  announce, 
concurs,  with  other  circumstances,  to  show  that  the  church 
is  not  only  dissatisfied  with  its  past  parsimony,  but  is  grad- 
ually awaking  to  the  claims  of  Christian  liberality,  we  can 
regard  them  as  little  more  than  indications  of  improvement. 

Nearly  all  the  great  defects  in  the  charity  of  the  Christian 
church  remain,  with  very  slight  modifications.  It  still  waits 
for  impulses  and  appeals.  It  wants  calculation,  proportion, 
and  self-denial.  It  does  not  keep  pace  with  the  growing  de- 
mands of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  It  wants  principle  and 
plan.  The  great  current  of  Christian  property  is  as  yet  un- 
diverted from  its  worldly  channel.  Many  of  the  scanty  rills 
of  charity,  which  at  present  water  the  garden  of  the  Lord,  are 
brought  and  kept  there  only  by  great  ingenuity  and  effort. 
Here  and  there  an  individual  is  to  be  found  who  economizes 
his  resources  that  he  may  employ  them  for  God ;  but  the 
very  admiration  in  which  such  a  one  is  held  in  his  circle 
implies  that  he  stands  there  alone.  In  which  of  the  sections 
of  the  Christian  church  shall  we  find  a  spirit  of  worldly  self- 
indulgence  to  be  only  the  exception,  and  a  spirit  of  self-deny- 
ing benevolence  the  rule?  How  small,  it  is  to  be  feared,  is 
the  number  of  those  who  really  and  practically  believe  that 
"  it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive ; "  or  who  truly 
act  on  the  principle,  that  they  hold  their  property  in  trust  for 
God  !  And  hence  is  it  not  the  fact  that  our  very  success  in 
the  cause  of  God  is,  in  an  important  sense,  found  inconve- 
nient and  burdensome  ?  Do  we  not,  consequently,  stand  dis- 
qualified for  extensive  usefulness  ?  Is  not  the  great  Head  of 
the  church  himself  placed  under  a  moral  restraint  from  em- 
ploying and  blessing  us  only  in  a  very  limited  degree  ?  A 
covetous,  self-indulgent  community  !  how  can  he  consistently 
employ  such  to  convert  the  world;  especially,  too,  as  that 
conversion  includes  a  turning  from  selfishness  ?  Not,  indeed, 
28 


326  THE    WANTS   OF   THE   CHURCH 

that  his  cause  is  necessarily  dependent  for  success  on  our 
liberality ;  and  perhaps,  when  his  people  shall  be  so  far  con- 
strained by  his  love  as  to  place  their  property  at  his  disposal, 
he  may  most  convincingly  show  them  that  he  has  never  been 
dependent  on  it,  by  completing  his  kingdom  without  it.  But 
while  he  chooses  to  work  by  means,  those  means  must  be  in 
harmony  with  his  own  character,  and  with  the  character  of 
the  Christian  dispensation ;  and  what  is  that  character  but 
self-denying,  infinite  benevolence? 

It  is  recorded,  to  the  high  honor  of  certain  ancient  believ- 
ers, that  "  God  was  not  ashamed  to  be  called  their  God."  So 
plainly  did  they  "  declare  that  they  sought  a  better  country, 
that  is,  a  heavenly,"  and  so  entirely  did  they  live  for  his  glory, 
that  he  could  point  the  attention  of  the  world  to  them  with 
divine  complacency  ;  he  could  intrust  his  character  in  their 
hands ;  he  could  leave  the  world  to  infer  what  he  was  from 
what  they  were  ;  he  was  content  to  be  judged  of  by  the  con- 
duct of  his  people.  Could  he  leave  his  character  to  be  in- 
ferred from  the  conduct  of  his  people  now  ?  Is  there  any 
thing,  for  instance,  in  the  manner  and  extent  of  their  liberality, 
which  would  remind  the  world  of  his  vast  unbounded  benevo- 
lence? They  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that 
though  he  was  rich,  for  our  sakes  he  became  poor,  that  they 
through  his  poverty  might  be  made  rich ;  but  from  what  part 
of  their  conduct  would  the  world  ever  learn  this  melting  truth  ? 
No ;  in  this  respect  he  is  ashamed  to  be  called  their  God. 
Their  self-indulgence  misrepresents  his  self-sacrifice.  Their 
worldly  spirit'  of  appropriation  is  a  shame  to  his  boundless 
beneficence.  His  character  is  falsified  by  them  in  the  eyes 
of  the  world.  Nor  could  he  honor  them  in  any  distinguished 
manner  before  the  world,  without  indorsing  and  confirming 
that  falsification  of  his  character.  He  is  yearning  for  the 
happiness  of  the  perishing  world;  but  such,  at  present,  is 
the  nature  of  his  divine  arrangements,  that  he  has  only  the 
instrumentality  of  his  people  to  work  by,  and  that  is  so  steeped 
in  selfishness,  that  his  grace  may  be  said  to  be  held  under 
restraint. 

Now,  the  liberality  wanted  is  that  which  originates  in  Chris- 
tian principle.  As  long  as  it  is  subjected  to  any  inferior 
motives,  its  defects  will  be  numerous,  unavoidable,  fatal.  It 
will  think  highly  of  its  smallest  gifts ;  will  be  unduly  influ- 
enced by  the  conduct  of  others ;  will  wait  for  public  excite- 
ment ;  and  will  ever  be  in  danger  of  diminution,  and  even 


IN    RELATION   TO   MISSIONS.  327 

of  total  cessation.  Nothing  but  a  deep  and  abiding  con- 
viction of  our  vast,  solemn,  subduing  obligations  to  God  in 
Christ,  can  ever  insure  that  cordial  and  entire  consecration 
of  our  property,  which  his  divine  commands,  and  the  neces- 
sities of  his  cause,  imperatively  require.  By  taking  the  Chris- 
tian to  the  cross,  and  keeping  him  there  in  the  presence  of 
the  great  Sacrifice,  he  is  made  to  feel  that  he  is  not  his  own, 
that  his  costliest  offering,  could  he  multiply  its  value  a  thou- 
sand fold,  would  be  utterly  unworthy  of  divine  acceptance ; 
and  if  called  to  pour  forth  his  blood  as  a  libation  on  the  altar 
of  Christian  sacrifice,  he  would  regard  it  as  an  ample  expla- 
nation of  his  conduct,  to  say,  with  an  apostle,  "The  love  of 
Christ  constraineth  us." . 

The  liberality  wanted  is  that  which  provides  itself  with 
regular  resources  by  acting  on  a  plan.  Business  plans  and 
systematizes  in  order  to  gain ;  covetousness  schemes  for  selfish 
purposes;  why  should  the  cause  of  Christian  benevolence 
alone  be  left  to  the  uncertainty  of  impulses,  and  to  the  mercy 
of  what  the  world  may  chance  to  have  left  ?  "  Upon  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  let  every  one  of  you,"  says  the  apostle, 
"  lay  by  him  in  store  as  God  hath  prospered  him,  that  there 
be  no  gatherings  when  I  come."  Acting  in  the  spirit  of  this 
direction,  we  should  statedly  invite  the  divine  presence,  so  to 
speak,  to  audit  the  accounts  of  our  worldly  affairs ;  our  offer- 
ings would  be  presented  with  cheerfulness  because  coming  from 
a  fund  designed  expressly  to  no  other  end  than  charity ;  and 
the  cause  of  benevolence,  no  longer  dependent  on  precarious 
alms,  would  be  welcomed  and  honored  as  an  authorized  claim- 
ant, a  divine  creditor ;  while  what  we  retained  for  our  own  use 
would  be  divinely  blessed  by  the  dedication  of  the  rest  to  God. 

According  to  the  apostolic  language  just  quoted,  the  liber- 
ality of  the  Christian  should  be  distinguished  not  only  by 
plan,  but  also  by  proportion.  In  assisting  him  to  determine 
the  amount  of  that  proportion,  the  only  step  which  the  gospel 
takes  is  to  point  him  to  the  cross  of  Christ ;  and,  while  his 
eye  is  fixed  there  in  admiring  love,  to  say,  "  Ye  know  the 
grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;"  "Freely  ye  have  re- 
ceived, freely  give."  And  can  he,  after  that,  experience  any 
difficulty  in  deciding  the  proportion  to  be  made  sacred  to 
God?  Surely  he  would  rather  exceed  than  fall  short  of  the 
exact  amount.  With  whom  is  he  stipulating?  For  whom 
is  he  preparing  the  offering?  Well  may  the  recollection 
put  every  selfish  thought  to  flight;  tinging  his  cheek  with 


328  THE    WANTS    OF   THE    CHURCH 

shame  at  the  bare  possibility  of  ingratitude,  and  impelling 
him  to  lay  down  his  all  at  the  feet  of  Christ.  Only  let  him 
pass  near  the  cross  on  his  way  to  the  altar  of  oblation,  and 
he  will  not  be  long  lost  in  the  question  of  proportion ;  his 
only  subject  of  anxiety  will  be  that  his  richest  offering  should 
be  so  utterly  unworthy.  If  poor,  he  will  soon  detect  some 
small  superfluity  which  can  be  retrenched,  or  some  leisure 
time  which  can  be  profitably  employed,  "  working  with  his 
hands  the  thing  which  is  good,  that  he  may  have  to  give  to 
him  that  needeth."  If  rich,  he  will  not,  cannot  be  satisfied 
with  the  gift  of  money  merely,  however  large  the  amount ; 
the  cause  of  Christ  will  have  his  activity  and  his  sacrifices 
also.  Yes,  the  liberality  wanted  is  that  which  gives,  not  a 
little  from  much,  but  much  from  a  little ;  that  which  shall  in- 
duce the  wealthy  Christian  parent  to  offer  up  his  pious  son 
on  the  missionary  altar,  and  to  lay  beside  him,  at  the  same 
time,  whatever  may  be  necessary  to  make  the  oblation  com- 
plete; that  which  shall  constrain  the  wealthy  Christian  to 
ascend  that  altar  himself,  taking  with  him  all  he  has,  and 
offering  the  whole  as  a  missionary  oblation  to  God. 

In  other  words,  the  liberality  wanted  at  the  present  crisis 
is  the  liberality  of  Christian  self-denial.  And,  here,  we 
would  not  be  understood  to  mean  that  the  gospel  requires 
that  every  Christian  should,  at  all  times,  be  found  in  a  state 
of  voluntary  and  comfortless  poverty.  Were  the  thousand 
drains  of  selfishness  cut  off,  the  cause  of  Christ  would  find 
an  abundance  from  his  friends,  and  would  leave  an  abundance 
to  them  all.  When  every  Christian  brings  his  all  to  Christ, 
every  Christian  will  be  able  to  take  away  with  him  again  an 
ample  supply  for  his  most  comfortable  subsistence.  But  till 
then,  is  it  not  the  duty  of  every  one  who  would  be  deemed 
benevolent  to  institute  the  momentous  inquiry  which  the 
church  is  now  more  than  ever  called  on  to  decide —  whether, 
under  existing  circumstances,  there  can  be  any  Christian 
benevolence  without  self-denial.  Does  not  the  church  itself 
require  to  be  moved  by  examples  of  self-denial?  Do  not  the 
very  terms  of  Christian  discipleship  include  a  readiness  to 
lay  down  life  itself,  if  required,  for  the  sake  of  the  gospel  ? 
Is  not  the  teeming  population  of  many  a  heathen  district 
perishing  at  this  moment  in  ignorance  of  Christ,  because 
Christians  will  not  lay  down  —  not  life,  but  some  of  its  super- 
fluities? And  yet,  are  these  Christians  living  around  the 
cross,  in  sight  of  the  crucifixion,  and  ever  ready  to  acknowl- 


IN   RELATION   TO   MISSIONS.  329 

edge  that  they  are  bound,  by  their  obligations  to  it,  to  with- 
hold nothing  they  possess,  that  has  in  it  the  least  tendency  to 
draw  the  world  to  the  same  centre  ! 

Nor  can  we  be  supposed  to  imply,  after  what  we  have 
already  said,  that  the  Christian  cause  is  originally  and  neces- 
sarily dependent  for  success  on  the  property  of  the  church. 
God,  however,  has  been  pleased  to  employ  the  instrumentality 
of  his  people  for  the  conversion  of  the  world  ;  the  value  of 
that  instrumentality  depends  entirely  on  its  moral  character ; 
and  that  character,  to  be  acceptable  to  God,  must  be  perfectly 
congenial  with  his  own  character.  Now,  it  is  worthy  of  at- 
tentive regard  that,  while  he  has  thus  made  the  duty  of  giving 
imperative,  he  has  taken  away  all  pretext  for  supposing  that 
it  is  necessary  on  any  other  account  than  as  an  exhibition  of 
Christian  principle,  by  making  its  usefulness  to  depend,  not 
on  the  amount  given,  but  on  the  spirit  and  entireness  of  the 
gift,  so  that,  were  the  amount  of  our  contributions,  on  the 
one  hand,  to  be  multiplied  from  thousands  to  millions,  that 
alone  would  not  entitle  us  to  look  for  an  increase  of  useful- 
ness. Success  is  not  to  be  purchased.  That  no  increase  of 
good  would  arise  from  such  multiplication  we  dare  not  affirm ; 
for  we  know  not  the  plenitude  of  sovereign  grace.  But  that 
no  promise  in  the  Bible  would  entitle  us  to  look  for  it,  we  do 
affirm.  Success  is  there  promised,  not  to  acts,  but  to  the 
Christian  principles  whence  those  acts  should  flow.  And 
hence,  on  the  other  hand,  were  our  contributions  a  thousand 
times  less  than  they  are,  that  alone  would  not  warrant  us  to 
apprehend  a  decrease  of  usefulness.  The  question  would 
still  return,  What  is  the  character  of  our  liberality?  Does 
it  partake  of  the  unworldly  and  self-denying  character  of  the 
cross?  We  ask  not  the  amount  of  what  the  church  has 
given,  but  how  much  it  has  kept  back  for  mere  self-indul- 
gence. We  ask  not  how  many  agents  of  mercy  have  been 
sent  forth,  but  also  how  many  more  might,  and  therefore 
ought  to,  have  been  sent  forth ;  but  which  through  our  selfish- 
ness have  been  kept  unemployed.  What  we  have  left  un- 
done, owing  to  our  worldliness,  has  an  influence  as  positive  as 
that  which  we  have  done ;  and  the  only  influence  which  it 
can  have  is  to  weaken  the  effect  of  our  actual  efforts.  In  the 
eyes  of  the  world  it  convicts  us  of  gross  inconsistency,  and 
thus  directly  tends  to  neutralize  the  influence  which  belongs 
to  Christian  character.  And,  in  relation  to  God,  it  suspends 
the  shower  of  his  blessing,  and  allows  us  only  a  few  prelu- 
28* 


330        THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

sive  drops ;  for  how  could  he  distinguish  with  his  copious 
blessing  a  liberality  which  puts  off  his  cause  with  merely  a 
few  of  the  drops  of  its  superfluity,  without  exposing  his  own 
glorious  character  to  the  suspicion  of  inconsistency  1 

The  liberality  wanted,  then,  is  not  that  empty  benevolence 
which  makes  no  retrenchments,  takes  no  pains,  costs  neither 
effort  nor  sacrifice ;  but  that  which,  actuated  by  the  love  of 
Christ,  plans,  proportions,  and  adds  to  its  superfluities  the 
precious  savings  of  self-denial.  And  the  principal  ground 
on  which  we  urge  it  is,  that  it  is  the  only  liberality  congenial 
with  the  character  of  Christ,  and  therefore  the  only  liberality 
which  he  can  consistently  honor,  to  any  great  extent,  with  his 
blessing.  Till  this  comes,  the  great  shower  of  his  blessing  will 
not  come.  But  when  it  does,  what  can  stand  before  a  spirit 
which  evinces  a  readiness  to  give  up  all  for  Christ;  for 
the  Spirit  without  measure  will  come  with  it.  The  world 
will  behold  in  such  conduct  an  argument  for  the  reality  and 
power  of  the  gospel  which  it  could  not  misunderstand,  could 
not  gainsay.  "  God,  even  our  own  God,  shall  bless  us,"  shall 
glory  to  own  such  a  people  before  the  eyes  of  the  world  — 
"God  shall  bless  us,"  and,  as  a  consequence,  "all  the  ends 
of  the  earth  shall  fear  him." 

10.  The  Christian  principle  which  originates  the  liberality 
wanted  would  not  stop  here,  but  would  proceed  to  supply 
another  important  want  —  the  Christian  agency  of  mission- 
ary laymen.  No  reason,  except  our  defective  devotedness  to 
Christ,  can  be  assigned,  why  the  wealthy  Christian  should  so 
generally  confine  his  missionary  instrumentality  to  the  mere 
act  of  giving  money ;  why  he  should  not  himself  accompany 
the  missionary  preacher ;  why  he  should  not  select  for  his 
residence  some  unenlightened  region,  and  take  with  him  "  a 
man  of  God"  to  be  the  ministerial  instructor  of  his  own 
family,  and  the  missionary  of  the  district  around ;  why  the 
Christian  female,  whom  God  has  prepared  for  missionary 
usefulness,  should  not  emulate  "  those  women  who  labored 
in  the  gospel "  in  apostolic  days ;  or  why  the  colonization  of 
heathen  districts  should  not  be  attempted  by  the  settlement 
of  Christian  societies. 

It  cannot  be  alleged,  in  excuse,  that  there  are  no  persons 
eligible  for  such  a  duty.  There  is  many  a  Christian  at 
this  moment  who  possesses  an  affluent  proportion  of  in- 
dependent property ;  who  has  no  indissoluble  ties  which 
bind  him  to  his  native  land ;  who  can  occasionally  leave  that 


IN   RELATION   TO   MISSIONS.  331 

land  for  a  continental  excursion ;  who  is  often  at  a  loss  for 
occupation  ;  and  who  consequently  spends  much  of  his  time  in 
a  way  which  absolutely  endangers  his  piety.  It  cannot  be  said 
that  there  are  no  places  eligible  in  heathen  lands  for  such  to 
reside  in.  There  are  many  situations  in  the  British  colonies 
and  dependencies,  at  least,  where  they  would  find  salubrity, 
security,  and  as  many  of  the  comforts  of  life  as  those  can 
consistently  desire  to  possess  who  profess  to  be  the  followers 
of  Him  who  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head,  and  whose  treas- 
ure is  in  heaven.  Nor  can  it  be  alleged,  that  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel  is  the  only  instrumentality  required  for  the 
heathen  ;  or  that  the  effect  of  the  addition  of  lay  agency 
would  be  experimental  and  uncertain.  "  I  have  scarcely 
been  in  a  foreign  port,"  says  the  American  missionary  already 
quoted,  the  Rev.  D.  Abeel,  "  where  I  have  not  met  with  men 
from  Christian  lands  engaged  in  business.  These  persons 
are  found  wherever  they  can  reap  advantage  from  their 
worldly  professions.  After  remaining  some  time  in  a  place, 
they  not  only  feel  themselves  at  home,  but  are  regarded,  by 
those  around  them,  as  naturalized  citizens.  They  gain  the 
confidence  of  the  natives,  and  become  influential.  They  are 
looked  up  to  with  respect,  and  their  opinions  are  sought  for 
with  avidity.  I  have  been  in  countries  where  these  persons 
had  become  so  popular,  as  to  receive  from  royalty  itself  marks 
of  honorable  distinction.  Now,  the  missionaries  have  often 
inquired  why  Christian  merchants  and  mechanics  might  not 
pursue  the  same  course  of  life  from  the  motive  of  glorifying 
their  Redeemer  and  benefiting  their  fellow-men.  They 
could  certainly  engage  in  the  same  employments ;  they  might 
probably  secure  the  same  confidence ;  and,  at  the  same  time, 
they  could  make  all  their  relations  and  honors  subservient  to 
the  progress  of  Christianity.  I  have  known  a  few  persons  in 
heathen  countries  who  acted  on  high  religious  principles,  and 
it  is  impossible  to  tell  how  much  good  they  accomplished. 
It  is  not  only  their  personal  exertions  which  render  them 
useful,  but  the  countenance  and  assistance  they  lend  the  mis- 
sionaries. It  is  in  this  last-mentioned  respect,  that  their 
presence  and  influence  are  exceedingly  desirable.  Being  on 
the  spot,  and  acquainted  with  every  event  which  occurs,  they 
not  only  become  greatly  interested  in  the  salvation  of  the 
heathen,  but  are  prepared  to  improve  every  opportunity  for 
its  promotion.  For  my  own  part,  I  cannot  doubt  that  Chris- 
tian communities  among  the  heathen  would  produce  the  most 


332  THE   WANTS   OF   THE   CHURCH 

desirable  effects."  Such  a  community,  by  necessarily  em- 
ploying a  number  of  natives,  would  be  placing  them  in  the 
best  situation  for  the  reception  of  Christian  instruction ;  by 
merely  relieving  the  missionary  from  secular  cares,  they 
would  be  setting  at  liberty  a  considerable  proportion  of  his 
time  and  powers  for  spiritual  duties;  by  Christian  tuition, 
visiting,  conversation,  and  the  distribution  of  religious  books, 
they  would  greatly  multiply  his  means  of  usefulness ;  and  by 
imbodying  and  exhibiting  before  the  heathen,  as  a  Christian 
church,  the  benign  and  elevating  influence  of  the  gospel, 
they  would  be  constraining  observers  to  glorify  their  Father 
who  is  in  heaven. 

The  same  excellent  missionary  bears  testimony  to  the 
invaluable  influence  of  Christian  female  teachers  in  heathen 
lands.  But  to  form  an  idea  of  their  usefulness,  he  observes, 
"  it  is  necessary  to  be  a  witness  to  their  habitual  engage- 
ments ; "  and  expresses  it  as  his  opinion,  formed  from  exten- 
sive intercourse  with  missionaries,  that  woman  is  as  indispen- 
sable to  the  successful  operation  of  missions,  as  she  is  to  the 
well-being  of  society  in  Christian  lands. 

Now,  let  the  wealthy  Christian  bear  in  mind  that  by  going 
and  personally  cooperating  with  the  Christian  missionary, 
the  cause  of  Christ  among  the  heathen  might  receive  not 
merely  the  advantage  of  his  own  time,  and  wealth,  and  influ- 
ence, —  he  might  be  honored  of  God  in  filling  a  wide  sphere 
with  the  agency  of  Christian  women  also,  and  might,  in 
various  ways,  eminently  promote  the  interests  of  Christian 
colonization. 

No  good  or  useful  act  terminates  in  itself;  and  his  exam- 
ple could  not  fail,  by  the  divine  blessing,  "  to  provoke  very 
many."  Why,  then,  should  he  decline  this  proof  of  his  de- 
votedness  to  Christ  1  It  cannot  be  because  it  is  impractica- 
ble ;  for  the  Christian  missionary  has  gone  before  him,  and 
is  calling  him  to  follow.  He  would  not  plead  that  it  is  be- 
cause he  has  wealth,  for  that  increases  his  responsibility ;  so 
that,  instead  of  acting  as  a  golden  chain  to  bind  him  here,  it 
should  be  rather  converted  into  wings  to  bear  him  "  far  hence 
among  the  Gentiles."  Had  he  never  possessed  that  wealth, 
he  himself  might  possibly  have  been  a  laborious  missionary  ; 
and  surely  he  does  not  imagine  that  his  wealth  was  meant  to 
diminish  his  usefulness  by  detaining  him  in  self-enjoyment  at 
home.  He  cannot  plead  that  the  state  of  the  heathen  does 
not  require  it;  for   let  him  know  that  if  he  will  "  retire  to 


IN    RELATION    TO   MISSIONS.  333 

enjoy  life,"  he  retires  amidst  the  cries  and  shrieks  of  a  world 
perishing  in  its  guilt.  He  will  not  say  that  his  obligations  to 
Christ  do  not  demand  it;  for  he  daily  acknowledges  they 
might  at  any  time  justly  require  the  sacrifice  of  life  itself. 
Nor  can  he  urge  that  it  is  not  necessary,  in  order  to  demon- 
strate his  devotedness  to  Christ ;  for  the  question  is,  whether 
his  disinclination  to  take  this  step  does  not  arise  from  his 
very  want  of  devotedness !  The  sum  which  he  contributes 
may  be  only  serving  to  conceal  his  want  of  zeal  for  the  active 
service  of  Christ ;  so  that  his  personal  consecration  to  Christ 
as  a  missionary  layman  may  be  just  the  very  kind  of  evidence 
yet  wanting,  and  indispensably  necessary  to  establish  the  fact 
of  his  love  to  Christ. 

11.  Now,  from  the  wants  already  named,  it  is  evident  that, 
as  a  missionary  church,  we  preeminently  need  an  increase  of 
energy  and  zeal.  He  must  be  ignorant  indeed  who  does  not 
know  that  rashness  often  passes  for  zeal,  and  that  the  path 
of  wisdom  lies  between  a  blind  impetuosity  on  the  one  hand, 
and  a  cold,  calculating  policy  on  the  other.  But  blind  must 
he  be  also  not  to  perceive  that  much  in  the  Christian  church, 
at  present,  which  assumes  the  name  of  prudence,  is  timidity 
and  unbelief  in  disguise.  In  reference  to  its  financial  affairs, 
for  instance,  were  all  the  maxims  of  worldly  caution  to  be 
adduced  in  connection  with  all  the  promises  of  God  addressed 
to  a  generous,  enterprising,  and  open-handed  faith,  how  much 
easier  it  would  be  to  harmonize  them  with  those  maxims  than 
with  these  promises !  The  spirit  of  commercial  enterprise, 
the  ardor  of  scientific  pursuit,  or  the  heroism  of  adventurous 
research,  takes  men  annually  by  hundreds  into  the  regions 
of  pestilence,  or  storm,  or  eternal  ice ;  but  no  sooner  does  a 
Christian  minister  leave  home  for  a  foreign  field  of  labor, 
than,  as  if  a  miracle  of  self-sacrifice  had  taken  place,  a  claim 
is  set  up  in  his  behalf  for  the  universal  sympathy  of  the  church. 
Judging  from  the  history  of  the  church,  we  have  every  thing 
to  hope  from  bold  measures ;  but  judging  from  our  own  con- 
duct, we  have  every  thing  to  fear  from  them.  "  Prove  me 
now,"  saith  God,  "  whether  I  will  not  open  the  windows  of 
heaven  to  bless  you  ; "  but  who  thinks  of  accepting  the  gra- 
cious challenge  ?  Does  not  our  conduct,  in  effect,  reproach 
the  first  missionaries,  and  charge  the  confessors  and  reform- 
ers of  later  days  with  guilty  rashness  ?  If  we  are  only  pru- 
dent, what  were  they  1  And  yet  we  profess  to  admire  their 
deeds  ;  boast  of  being  their  spiritual  descendants ;  and  ac- 


334        THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

knowledge  that  we  owe  every  thing,  under  God,  to  their  bold- 
ness, fidelity,  and  zeal.  Does  not  the  conduct  of  the  great 
majority  of  Christians  at  home  reproach  even  the  laborers 
who  are  at  present  in  the  missionary  field  ?  For  if  those  are 
right,  must  not  these  be  wrong  ?  If  the  reasons  which  those 
assign  in  justification  of  their  course  are  to  be  held  decisive, 
then  have  these  laid  themselves  open  to  the  charge  of  rash 
and  inconsiderate  zeal. 

And  yet  who  does  not  feel  that  theirs  is  the  zeal  we  want  ? 
the  zeal  of  a  Paul  and  the  first  disciples ;  of  a  Luther  and  the 
early  reformers ;  of  an  Eliot  and  our  first  missionaries ;  a 
zeal  which  would  startle  the  church,  and  even  be  stigmatized 
by  thousands  of  its  members  —  for  what  zeal  has  not  been  ? 
zeal  that  would  be  content  to  be  appreciated  by  the  Chris- 
tians of  another  generation.  The  zeal  wanted  is  that  which, 
while  it  invites  prudence  to  be  of  its  council,  would  not  allow 
her  to  reign ;  and  which,  while  it  would  economize  its  means 
and  provide  for  real  evils,  would  gather  incitement  to  in- 
creased activity  from  the  obstacles  lying  in  its  way  —  the 
zeal  of  our  momentary  but  strongest  impulses  made  perpetual. 
The  energy  we  want  is  that  which  springs  from  sympathy 
with  the  grandeur  of  our  theme,  the  dignity  of  our  office,  and 
the  magnificence  of  the  missionary  enterprise.  O,  where  is 
the  spiritual  perception  that  looks  forth  on  the  world  as  the 
great  scene  of  a  moral  conflict,  and  beholds  it  .under  the 
stirring  aspect  which  it  presents  to  the  beings  of  other  worlds? 
Where  are  the  kindled  eye,  and  the  beaming  countenance, 
and  the  heart  bursting  with  the  momentous  import  of  the 
gospel  message?  Where  the  fearlessness  and  confidence 
whose  very  tones  inspire  conviction,  and  carry  with  them  all 
the  force  of  certainty  and  the  weight  of  an  oath?  Where 
the  zeal  which  burns  with  its  subject,  as  if  it  had  just  come 
from  witnessing  the  crucifixion,  and  feels  its  theme  with  all 
the  freshness  and  force  of  a  new  revelation  ?  The  zeal  which, 
during  its  intervals  of  labor,  repairs  to  the  mount  of  vision  to 
see  the  funeral  procession  of  six  hundred  millions  of  souls? 
to  the  mouth  of  perdition,  to  hear  voices  of  all  these,  saying, 
as  the  voice  of  one  man,  "  Send  to  our  brethren,  lest  they 
also  come  into  this  place  of  torment"  ?  to  Calvary,  to  renew 
its  vigor  by  touching  the  cross  ?  Enthusiasm  is  sobriety  here. 
In  this  cause,  the  zeal  of  Christ  consumed  him ;  his  holiest 
ministers  have  become  flames  of  fire ;  and,  as  if  all  created 
ardor  were  insufficient,  here  infinite  zeal  finds  scope  to  burn  ; 
"  for  the  zeal  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  shall  perform  it." 


IN   RELATION   TO   MISSIONS.  335 

12.  And  where  is  this  flame  to  be  kindled  —  where  is  the 
live  coal  to  be  obtained,  but  from  off  the  altar?  It  was  there 
that  the  servants  of  God  in  every  age  found  it,  and  there  they 
kept  it  bright  and  burning.  It  was  there  that  Christ  himself 
sustained  that  zeal,  in  the  flames  of  which  he  at  last  ascended 
as  a  sacrifice  to  God.  And  it  is  only  in  proportion  as  we  are 
found  at  the  same  altar  of  devotion,  that  we  can  hope  to  im- 
bibe his  spirit,  or  to  enjoy  the  honor  of  advancing  his  cause. 

But  it  may  be  asked,  Has  not  a  spirit  of  supplication,  of 
late  years,  distinguished  the  churche's  of  Christ?  Notwith- 
standing what  we  have  said  of  a  congratulatory  nature  on 
missionary  meetings  for  prayer,  in  a  preceding  page,  we  feel 
bound  to  reply,  only  very  partially  —  whereas  the  prayer 
wanted  is  universal ;  only  very  feebly  —  whereas  the  prayer 
wanted  is  the  effectual,  fervent  prayer,  which  availeth  much ; 
only  by  uncertain  fits  —  whereas  the  prayer  needed  is  the 
continuous,  unbroken,  persevering  cry  of  importunity  ;  only 
the  prayer  of  party,  (effects  prove  it)  —  whereas  the  prayer 
required  is  the  prayer  of  "  all,  with  one  accord." 

Prayer,  indeed,  is  always  indispensable.  It  brings  us  to 
the  one  spot,  and  keeps  us  in  the  only  place  in  the  universe 
which  properly  belongs  to  us  —  at  the  feet  of  God.  It  tends 
to  annihilate  self;  amounts  to  a  confession  of  our  utter  de- 
pendence upon  God ;  renders  appropriate  homage  to  his 
greatness ;  and  thus  keeps  us  in  constant  and  active  commu- 
nication with  the  Fountain  of  grace. 

There  are  times,  however,  when  the  duty  of  prayer  be- 
comes unusually  urgent.  If,  for  instance,  a  period  should 
arrive  in  which  the  philosophy  and  the  philanthropy  of  this 
world  should  profess  to  be  aiming  at  human  happiness,  in 
common  with  the  gospel,  and  should  consequently  appear  to 
be  almost  identified  with  it,  how  important  that  the  church 
should  affirm  the  essential  difference  between  these  agencies 
—  the  one  expecting  the  renovation  of  society  from  human 
means  alone,  the  other  relying  supremely  on  the  power  of 
God  as  indispensable  to  success !  But  how  can  Christians 
visibly  and  directly  vindicate  the  divine  honor  in  this  respect, 
except  as  they  are  known  to  be  in  the  habit  of  appealing  to 
that  power,  and  importunately  invoking  the  divine  interposi- 
tion ?  Now,  such  a  period  is  the  present.  The  world  is 
teeming  with  projects  for  the  amelioration  of  the  race,  and  is 
full  of  expectation  from  the  future.  But  though  it  is  thus 
looking,  at  length,  in  the  same  direction  as  the  church,  far 


336         THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

different  are  the  specific  objects  at  which  they  aim,  and  the 
principal  means  they  employ.  "  Our  hope  is  in  God."  But 
this  we  can  make  apparent  only  by  evincing  our  dependence 
on  him  in  prayer.  We  are  to  show  that  in  this  vital  respect 
we  are  at  issue  with  a  skeptical  philosophy  at  the  very  out- 
set ;  that  while  prayer  is  the  last  instrument  which  the  world 
would  employ,  we  not  only  employ,  but  rely  on  it ;  and  that 
we  place  it,  in  the  order  of  means,  as  first  and  best.  It  is  in 
this  way  alone  that  we  can  practically  rebuke  the  pride  of 
man ;  proclaim  the  utter  insufficiency  of  mere  human  means 
to  renovate  the  world  ;  and  claim  for  God  the  glory  due  unto 
his  name. 

If,  again,  a  period  should  come  in  which  the  church  should 
be  quickened  into  general  activity  for  the  good  of  the  world, 
the  only  way  in  which  the  great  mass  of  the  partially  enlight- 
ened could  be  preserved  from  the  danger  of  relying  unduly  on 
that  activity  would  be  by  their  being  kept  in  the  posture  of 
humble  acknowledgment  and  earnest  prayer.  Now,  such  a 
season  of  growing  activity  has  arrived ;  and  such  a  danger 
has  doubtless  come  with  it ;  and  the  more  that  activity  in- 
creases, the  greater  our  liability  to  rest  in  it,  to  the  guilty 
exclusion  of  Him  who  alone  can  render  it  useful.  This,  in- 
deed, does  not  imply  that  we  are  to  do  less,  but  to  pray  more. 
The  greater  the  sacrifice  laid  on  the  altar,  the  stronger  the 
flame  necessary  to  consume  it.  We  are  to  remember  that 
He  whom  we  serve  is  jealous  for  his  honor  ;  that  he  regards 
every  power  in  the  universe  as  more  or  less  opposed  to  him, 
but  the  power  of  prayer,  and  the  means  which  prayer  has 
sanctified ;  that  he  views  it  as  an  attempt  to  do  without  him  ; 
as  a  hostile  endeavor  to  contravene  the  great  principle  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ  —  "  that  not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by 
his  Spirit  alone,"  the  maladies  of  the  world  shall  be  healed. 
If  we  look  into  the  censer  of  the  "  angel  standing  at  the 
golden  altar  which  is  before  the  throne,"  and  if  we  there 
mark  what  it  is  of  all  human  instrumentality  which  ascends 
to  heaven,  we  shall  find  that  it  is  only  that  which  is  sanctified 
by  prayer.  When  the  clamors  of  a  prayerless  zeal  have  sub- 
sided ;  and  the  undevout  deeds  which  have  dazzled  and 
astounded  men  have  spent  their  force,  let  us  mark  what  is 
left  in  the  censer  —  only  .that  which  partook  of  the  nature  of 
prayer.  This  is  all  that  lives  to  reach  the  skies ;  all  that 
heaven  receives  from  earth ;  all  that  is  ever  permitted  to  as- 
cend before  God.     And  when  the  history  of  the  world  shall 


IN    RELATION  TO  MISSIONS.  337 

finally  be  summed  up,  nothing  which  had  not  been  in  that 
censer  will  be  named  except  to  be  condemned.  Preaching 
itself — benevolent  activity  in  all  its  forms — except  so  far 
as  it  is  associated  with  devotion  —  will  be  passed  over  to  record 
the  triumphs  of  prayer.  Many  a  Christian,  who  once  filled 
the  public  eye  with  his  active  deeds  and  burning  zeal,  will 
be  comparatively  unnoticed ;  and  the  man  of  prayer  —  the 
wrestler  with  God  —  will  be  drawn  out  from  his  closet  obscu- 
rity and  proclaimed  in  his  stead ;  and  it  will  then  appear  that 
while  the  one  was  only  moving  earth,  the  other  was  moving 
heaven. 

If  the  activity  of  the  period  referred  to  aimed  supremely 
at  spiritual  results,  the  necessity  for  prayer  would  be  still 
further  increased  ;  for  it  is  expressly  in  order  to  the  produc- 
tion of  such  results  that  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  has 
been  appointed  and  promised ;  and  it  is  only  in  proportion 
as  we  implore  his  presence  and  influence  that  we  honor  that 
appointment,  or  can  obtain  the  fulfilment  of  that  promise. 
But  such  is  the  special  aim  of  all  the  Christian  activity  of  the 
present  period.  Without  despising  or  overlooking  any  of  the 
real  interests  of  humanity,  the  great  and  ultimate  object  of 
our  endeavors  is  purely  spiritual  —  the  regeneration  of  the 
world.  Here,  then,  we  are  brought  into  the  special  province 
of  the  Spirit — a  region  in  which  our  only  robe  should  be  hu- 
mility, our  only  posture  that  of  dependence,  our  only  lan- 
guage prayer.  Here,  as  the  great  missionary  Spirit,  he  looks 
on  all  the  ordinances  of  the  church  as  the  instruments  with 
which  he  works,  and  on  all  its  members  as  the  organs  through 
whom  he  speaks,  and  on  the  entire  dispensation  as  emphati- 
cally his  own.  Now,  how  can  we  place  ourselves  in  harmony 
with  such  an  arrangement,  without  earnest,  united,  persever- 
ing supplication  for  his  gracious  influence  ? 

The  first  prayer  of  Christ  himself  on  his  ascension  to 
heaven  was  for  the  effusion  of  the  Spirit ;  and  the  first  prayer 
of  the  church  should  be  for  the  same  blessing.  Why  is  it  — 
let  there  be  great  searchings  of  heart  —  why  is  it  that  the 
promised  impartation  of  the  Spirit  is  withheld?  Why  is  it 
that  we  enjoy  only  a  few  drops  of  that  mighty  influence,  of 
which,  at  this  moment,  the  heavens  are  full  ?  Only  one  ex- 
planation can  be  given  :  "  We  have  not,  because  we  ask  not; 
or  because  we  ask  amiss."  Individual  Christians  have  not, 
particular  churches  have  not,  the  church  collectively  has  not 
duly  felt  its  need  of  that  influence,  nor  sent  up  the  prayer 
29 


338  THE    WANTS   OF   THE   CHURCH 

which  is  equal  to  bring  it  down.  If,  then,  we  would  not 
grieve  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God;  if  we  would  do  homage  to  the 
office  which  he  holds  in  the  plan  of  the  world's  redemption ; 
if  we  would  do  honor  to  the  mediation  of  Christ  on  account 
of  which  his  gracious  influences  are  imparted  —  in  all  our 
entreaties  for  the  conversion  of  the  world,  our  loudest  suppli- 
cations must  ascend  for  the  advent  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Besides,  it  is  only  as  our  endeavors  for  the  salvation  of 
the  world  are  accompanied  by  prayer,  that  we  are  acting  in 
harmony  with  the  pervading  spirit  of  the  gospel  constitution. 
According  to  that  spirit,  every  thing  is  made  dependent  on 
prayer,  and  may  be  effected  by  it.  What  is  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ  himself,  in  practical  effect,  but  prayer  in  its  most  con- 
centrated, intense,  and  prevailing  form  —  the  prayer  of  blood ; 
a  prayer  so  ardent  that  he  consumed  himself  in  the  utter- 
ance ;  a  prayer  which  is  ascending  still,  and  still  filling  the 
ear  of  God  with  its  entreaties ;  a  prayer  from  which  all  other 
prayers  derive  their  prevailing  power  1  Hence  it  is  said, 
"  He  is  able  to  save  unto  the  uttermost  all  them  that  come 
unto  God  by  him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession 
for  them."  He  has  turned  the  merit  of  his  sacrifice  into 
prayer.  Intercession,  in  his  hands,  is  a  chain  fastened  to  the 
throne  of  God  —  the  support  and  stay  of  a  sinking  world. 
Yes,  even  Jesus  prays,  and  by  prayer  succeeds.  If  he  would 
have  the  heathen  to  be  his  for  an  inheritance,  he  is  directed 
to  ask  to  that  effect.  And  accordingly  he  does  ask  :  "  For 
Zion's  sake,"  saith  he,  "  I  will  not  hold  my  peace  ;  and  for 
Jerusalem's  sake  I  will  not  rest,  until  the  righteousness 
thereof  go  forth  as  brightness,  and  the  salvation  thereof  as  a 
lamp  that  burnetii."  And  shall  he  pray  for  this  object  alone  1 
He  summons  his  church  to  join  him :  "  Ye  that  make  men- 
tion of  the  Lord,"  saith  he,  "  keep  not  silence,  and  give  him 
no  rest."  He  places  them  at  his  side  by  the  altar  ;  puts 
into  their  hand  a  censer  filled  with  incense  like  his  own ; 
and  thus  seeks  to  multiply  the  voice  and  effect  of  his  own 
intercession. 

Wise  and  gracious  arrangement !  For  owing  to  this  it  is 
that  every  believer  —  even  the  poorest  and  the  obscurest  —  is 
afforded  an  opportunity  of  indulging  his  supreme  love  to 
Christ  by  aiding  the  advancement  of  his  kingdom.  Let  him 
not  waste  his  moments  in  fruitlessly  deploring  how  truly  small 
the  largest  gifts  which  he  can  lay  on  the  altar  of  Christ ;  how 
little  the  time  which  he  can  give  to  his  service ;  or  how  cir- 


IN   RELATION    TO   MISSIONS.  339 

cumscribed  the  influence  which  his  lowness  of  station  permits 
him  to  exert  for  his  glory.  The  throne  of  grace  is  open  — 
open  to  him  —  open  to  all.  "  Here,"  he  may  say,  "  here  I  can 
gratify  my  love  to  Christ,  and  give  a  loose  to  all  the  ardor  of 
my  soul.  Poor  I  may  be  in  the  world's  account;  but  here  I 
can  pour  out  at  his  feet  the  wealth  of  my  affections.  Busy  I 
may  be  in  the  service  of  man;  but  here  I  can  repair,  in 
thought  and  desire,  and  serve  him  continually.  And  let  my 
influence  with  man  be  as  limited  as  it  may,  here  I  can  come 
and  have  power  with  God.  While  others  are  engaged  in 
pleading  for  the  cause  of  Christ  with  men,  here  I  can  come 
and  plead  for  it  with  God  ;  here  I  can  vie  with  an  apostle. 
While  a  Paul  is  planting,  and  an  Apollos  watering,  here  I  can 
aid  them  both  by  bringing  down  the  increase." 

If,  indeed,  the  salvation  of  the  world  be  our  aim,  whatever 
may  be  instrumentally  necessary  to  that  salvation  should  be 
made  the  subject  of  prayer.  Especially  should  the  spiritual 
prosperity  of  the  Christian  church  excite  our  earnest  desire. 
Is  it  inquired,  What  should  be  the  special  object  of  supplica- 
tion for  the  church  ?  It  wants  more  spirituality  and  dis- 
tinctness from  the  world  ;  it  wants  a  higher  appreciation  of 
its  office  as  the  instrument  of  Christ  for  saving  the  world ; 
more  of  the  spirit  of  liberality  to  sacrifice  for  Christ ;  of  union 
in  accordance  with  the  prayer  of  Christ ;  of  zeal  which  shall 
burn  for  the  universal  triumphs  of  Christ.  But  one  want 
there  is  which  comprehends  the  whole,  —  the  impartation  of 
the  Spirit  of  Christ.  Could  a  convocation  be  held  of  all  the 
churches  upon  earth,  the  object  of  their  one  united  cry  should 
be  for  that  promised  Spirit.  Let  that  be  secured,  and  in 
obtaining  that  we  shall  obtain  the  supply  of  every  other  want : 
we  should  find  that  we  had  acquired  the  same  mind  which 
was  also  in  Christ ;  a  benevolence  which  would  yearn  over 
the  whole  human  race ;  a  brotherly  love  which  would  com- 
bine with  the  whole  body  of  Christians  for  the  recovery  of 
the  world  ;  a  zeal  which  would  be  ever  devising  fresh  meth- 
ods of  usefulness,  practising  self-denial,  and  laying  itself  out 
in  the  service  of  Christ ;  and  a  perseverance  which  would 
never  rest  till  the  whole  family  of  man  should  be  seated 
together  at  the  banquet  of  salvation. 

But  if,  by  thus  imploring  an  effusion  of  the  Spirit  on  the 
church,  we  are,  in  effect,  interceding  for  the  world,  since  it 
is  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  church  that  the  world  is 
to  be  converted  to  Christ,  how  important  that  we  should  real- 


340         THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

ize  in  thought  the  dignity  and  responsibility  of  our  office ! 
We  go  to  God  as  the  earthly  representatives  of  mankind. 
We  pass  to  the  throne  of  grace  through  multitudes,  myriads 
of  human  beings.  May  we  not  hear  them,  as  we  go,  implor- 
ing a  place  in  our  supplications?  May  we  not  see  all  Africa 
assembled  in  our  path,  urging  us  to  go  to  God  for  them,  to 
describe  their  wrongs,  to  ask  for  the  blessings  of  the  reign 
of  Christ  for  them?  And  before  we  have  done  pleading  for 
Africa,  China  comes  with  its  untold  myriads,  entreating  us 
to  intercede  for  them.  And  while  yet  we  are  pleading  for 
China,  India  comes  with  its  tale  of  lamentation  and  woe,  and 
entreats  us  to  speak  for  it :  and  can  we  refrain  ?  And  when 
we  grow  faint,  they  all  combine  their  entreaties  that  we  cry 
to  God  for  them  louder  still ;  that  we  call  in  help  —  more 
intercessors,  and  more  still,  —  till  all  the  church  be  prostrate 
in  prayer.  And  when  we  move  to  quit  the  throne  of  grace, 
they  all,  in  effect,  entreat  us  not  to  leave  them  unrepresented 
before  God.  "  If  there  be  a  God,"  they  say,  "  and  if  prayer 
can  reach  him,  do  not  leave  us  thus,  or  we  perish.  Our  only 
hope  is  in  the  God  you  worship ;  the  Savior  you  proclaim. 
Pray  that  the  blessings  of  his  grace  may  be  extended  to 
us."  Did  we  habitually  realize  our  office  thus,  our  prayers 
would  rise  to  a  degree  of  importunity  to  which  nothing  could 
be  denied  essential  to  the  success  of  our  missionary  endeavors. 

And  be  it  remarked,  that  prayer  is  not  only  desirable,  ob- 
ligatory, urgent, —  the  time  has  come  when,  in  an  unusual 
sense,  it  is  inevitable.  We  read  of  the  church  of  old  being 
shut  up  unto  the  faith  which  should  afterwards  be  revealed. 
The  church  at  present  is  shut  up  unto  prayer.  It  must  sub- 
mit to  deep  disgrace  in  heathen  lands,  or  call  down  unusual 
measures  of  help  from  heaven.  It  is  so  completely  insnared 
by  success,  that  it  must  sound  a  retreat,  or  betake  itself  to 
God  in  unwonted  prayer.  Happy  necessity,  which  shall  drive 
it  to  this  resource  !  Blessed  exigence,  which  shall  bring  the 
whole  church  on  its  knees  before  God  !  The  time  to  favor 
her,  yea,  the  set  time  will  then  have  come.  "  God,  even  our 
own  God,  will  bless  us."  Gazing  from  his  throne  upon  his 
church  suppliant  at  his  feet,  he  will  say,  "  Behold,  she  pray- 
eth ;  let  the  windows  of  heaven  be  opened,  and  the  blessing 
be  poured  out." 

Again,  then,  we  return  to  the  position  with  which  we  com- 
menced this  part  of  our  subject,  —  and  our  survey  of  the 
necessities  of  the  church  has  only  deepened  our  conviction 


IN    RELATION   TO   MISSIONS.  341 

of  its  truth,  —  that  its  great  practical  want  as  a  missionary 
church  is  a  spirit  of  entire  devotedness  to  its  office.  He  who 
knows  any  thing  of  the  human  mind,  knows  that  its  full 
energies  are  never  put  forth  unless  its  object  be  single.  He 
who  knows  any  thing  of  the  relative  design  of  the  Christian 
church,  knows  that  it  deserves  the  undivided  attention  and 
entire  consecration  of  the  whole  Christian.  And  he  who 
knows  any  thing  of  the  history  of  that  church,  is  aware  that 
those  who  have  effected  the  greatest  good  in  their  own  age, 
and  who  are  producing  the  greatest  impression  on  posterity, 
were  distinguished  for  the  entireness  with  which  they  gave 
themselves  up  to  the  service  of  Christ.  Not  that  they  occu- 
pied a  public  sphere,  perhaps,  nor  that  they  were  distin- 
guished by  any  one  peculiar  mode  of  doing  good ;  but,  what- 
ever their  station,  and  however  diversified  their  Christian 
activity,  they  could  each  say,  like  the  apostle,  though  in 
another  sense,  "  One  thing  I  do."  One  all-pervading  passion, 
one  all-controlling  purpose,  bound  their  various  and  versatile 
efforts  together,  causing  the  whole  to  result,  like  the  intricate 
motions  of  a  complicated  machine,  in  one  entire  effect. 
Their  talents  which,  without  this  spirit  of  devotedness,  would 
have  been  comparatively  wasted,  or  have  ranked  as  insignifi- 
cant, by  it  acquired  a  concentration  and  a  power  which 
arrested  attention,  and  moved  society.  Feeble  rays  of  knowl- 
edge which,  without  this,  would  have  been  useless  to  all  but 
the  possessors  themselves,  by  it  were  collected  into  a  focus, 
and  made  to  illuminate  and  burn.  Powers  of  persuasion  and 
reasoning,  which,  without  it,  would  seldom  have  moved  or 
convinced,  by  it  acquired  an  impassioned  earnestness  which 
icould  be  heard,  and  could  not  fail  to  be  felt.  Each  appeal 
which  they  made  for  God,  however  simple  the  terms  in  which 
it  was  couched,  was  charged  high  with  feeling  and  fervor  ; 
each  sentence  an  arrow  with  barbed  and  sharpened  point; 
each  attempt  to  reason  for  God,  "  logic  set  on  fire."  Oppor- 
tunities of  usefulness  which,  without  it,  would  have  passed 
by  them  unseen  and  neglected,  were,  by  it,  anticipated, 
waited  for,  met,  seized,  improved,  multiplied.  Characters 
which,  without  it,  would  have  been  unnoticed,  by  it  acquired 
an  air  of  originality  and  greatness,  and  even  obtained  a  wide- 
spread ascendency  over  other  characters. 

There  are  men  now  occupied  in  the  field  of  missionary  labor 
whose  names,  but  for  this,  would  never  have  been  heard  of 
beyond  their  own  immediate  circle ;  but  whose  praise  is  now 
29* 


342  THE    WANTS   OF   THE   CHURCH 

in  all  the  churches,  and  will  be  to  the  end  of  time.  Not 
a  man  of  this  kind  ever  lives  without  leaving  on  society 
permanent  traces  that  he  has  been  among  them.  And  why  ? 
Partly  for  this  reason ;  that  the  undivided  and  devoted  man 
of  God  will  be  ever  and  anon  impelled,  by  the  very  law  of 
his  devotedness,  to  advance  a  step,  at  least,  beyond  his  con- 
temporaries ;  to  carry  out  into  vigorous  action  some  principle 
which  they  are  content  to  retain  slumbering  in  their  creeds ; 
to  give  himself  up  to  the  power  of  his  principles.  True,  by 
so  doing  he  may  often  attempt  more  than  he  can  effect ;  but 
what  then  ?  he  will  effect  more  than  most  men  attempt. 

And  is  not  the  devoted  Christian  the  only  one  likely  to 
develop  and  draw  out  into  benevolent  activity  the  resources 
of  those  around  him,  and  of  the  church  in  general  1  No  one 
else  will  feel  sufficiently  concerned  to  attempt  it ;  or  if  he 
did,  the  attempt,  counteracted  as  it  would  be  by  his  own  ex- 
ample, would  prove  nugatory  on  others,  and  recoil  with  shame 
on  his  own  head.  But  the  Christian  whose  heart  is  wholly 
devoted  to  Christ,  cannot  see  the  paucity  of  his  own  means 
in  contrast  with  the  magnitude  of  the  work  to  be  performed, 
and  then  look  around  on  the  unemployed  and  ample  resources 
of  the  church,  all  of  which  are  due  to  the  service  of  Christ, 
but  nearly  the  whole  of  which  are  lying  open  to  the  incur- 
sions of  the  world,  without  attempting  to  reclaim  them  for 
Christ.  He  cannot  recollect  that  each  member  of  that  vast 
body  of  the  faithful  has  his  post  assigned  in  the  cause  of 
human  salvation  ;  that  in  that  post  all  his  Christian  influence 
should  be  put  into  constant  requisition ;  and  that  every  thing 
dear  to  God  is  suspended  and  suffering,  owing  to  the  general 
neglect  of  this  truth,  without  feeling  impelled  to  warn  his 
fellow-Christians.  He  believes,  and  therefore  speaks ;  while 
his  example,  louder  than  words,  reminds  them  that  they  are 
not  their  own;  that  they  are  exclusively  the  property  of 
Christ. 

And  is  not  the  Christian  whose  devotedness  is  such  that 
he  cannot  be  satisfied  with  giving  himself  less  than  wholly  to 
the  service  of  Christ,  and  who  would  fain  see  all  the  re- 
sources of  the  Christian  church  pressed  into  the  same  service, 
and  all  its  members  cooperating  with  him  to  the  utmost,  —  is 
not  he,  for  the  very  same  reasons,  likely  to  be  the  most  earnest 
in  his  entreaties  for  the  indispensable  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit?  Yes;  whatever  else  may  be  essential  in  order  to  the 
conversion  of  the  world,  he  will  insist  first  and  last  on  the 


IN    RELATION    TO   MISSIONS.  343 

agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Remembering  that  the  present 
is  emphatically  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit,  that  to  convince 
men  of  sin  is  the  office  of  the  Spirit,  that  the  ordinances  of 
the  church  are  the  instruments  of  the  Spirit,  and  that  every 
Christian  member  is  at  once  the  mouth  of  the  church  and 
the  organ  of  the  Spirit,  in  their  united  appeals  to  the  world,  — 
he  feels  as  if  he  could  not  move  without  the  Spirit;  but 
remembering,  also,  that  his  influence  is  promised  to  prayer, 
he  cannot  do  less  than  cry  earnestly  for  his  aid.  Thus 
earnestly  sought,  and  appropriately  honored,  the  presence  of 
the  Spirit  will  be  felt,  nourishing  and  enlarging  his  piety  into 
an  element ;  not  affecting  a  part  of  his  character  merely,  but 
pervading  the  whole ;  consecrating  his  knowledge,  and  turning 
it  into  heavenly  wisdom  ;  keeping  him  on  his  watch-tower, 
looking  out  for  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  the  means  of  im- 
proving them  to  the  glory  of  God  ;  inspiring  him  with  a 
growing  confidence  in  God,  in  the  sufficiency  of  the  gospel 
to  meet  the  wants  of  the  church  and  of  the  world  ;  concen- 
trating his  powers  to  the  one  great  object  of  human  salva- 
tion ;  impelling  him,  under  a  sense  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
work  to  be  accomplished,  to  excite  and  engage  the  agencies 
of  all  around  him ;  and  yet  deepening  his  conviction  that, 
could  all  these  agencies  be  put  into  full  activity,  the  power 
of  the  Spirit  alone  could  crown  that  activity  with  success. 
As  certainly  as  he  believes  this  he  will  pray ;  as  certainly  as 
he  prays  he  will  obtain  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  as  certainly  as 
he  is  actuated  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  his  will  be  a  devoted  and 
efficient  instrumentality. 

Now,  such  entireness  of  consecration  is,  not  among  other 
things,  but  above  all  other  things,  in  the  order  of  means, 
indispensable.  Always  obligatory,  it  has  now  more  than  ever 
assumed  a  character  of  pressing,  crying  urgency.  The  spirit- 
ual wants  of  the  heathen  become  apparent  faster  than  we  can 
supply  them.  Cries  for  missionary  help  thicken  around  us 
more  rapidly  than  we  can  meet  and  appease  them.  The 
church  is  distracted  by  the  multiplicity  of  demands  made  on 
it,  compared  with  the  scantiness  of  means  at  present  at  its 
disposal.  Entire  devotedness  would  remedy  the  evil ;  not  so 
much  by  adding  to  those  resources  the  thousand  means  of 
influence  which  are  now  wasted  in  the  world,  as  by  certainly 
securing  an  unmeasured  blessing  from  on  high.  God  would 
arise  out  of  his  place ;  and  then,  although  our  means  were 
much  scantier  than  they  now  are,  the  work  would  rapidly 
proceed  to  a  glorious  consummation. 


344        THE  WANTS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

Christians,  then,  must  live  to  Christ  for  the  conversion  of 
the  world.  The  individual  believer  must  come  to  feel  that 
his  very  business,  as  a  Christian,  his  calling,  is  to  propagate 
his  religion.  Instead  of  waiting  for  great  conjunctures  to 
arise  before  he  begins  to  serve  the  missionary  cause,  or  delay- 
ing until  he  has  been  transported  to  some  distinguished  field 
of  usefulness  at  a  distance,  he  must  remember  that  wherever 
he  is,  the  sphere  of  his  duty  is  always  lying  around  him. 
Instead  of  waiting  for  others  to  move,  each  one  must  act 
under  a  sense  of  his  individual  responsibility  to  Christ,  and 
as  if  he  heard  the  Savior's  voice  singling  him  out  to  tax  his 
powers  to  the  utmost  in  his  service.  Instead  of  taking  ex- 
ample from  the  generality  of  those  around  him,  he  must  take 
his  standard  from  the  word  of  God,  and  he  will  be  furnishing 
a  model  for  them,  giving  a  pattern  to  the  future,  becoming 
the  founder  not  of  a  new  doctrinal  sect,  but  of  a  body  of 
Christians  distinguished  by  simply  harmonizing  their  life 
with  their  professions.  Instead  of  admiring  the  devotedness 
of  Christ  at  a  distance,  he  must  feel  that,  like  Christ,  he  has 
a  work  given  him  to  do,  —  the  extension,  or  prolongation,  in 
a  sense,  of  the  very  same  work ;  —  that  as  the  course  of 
Christ  led  direct  to  the  cross,  his  life  is  to  be  a  continuation 
of  the  same  course,  from  the  cross  to  the  sinner  whom 
it  concerns;  so  that  the  same  object  for  which  his  Lord 
came  into  the  world  and  died,  he  is  to  live  for  till  he  quits 
the  world. 

Heads  of  families  must  remember  that  parental  influence 
and  domestic  relationships  are  to  be  consecrated  to  the  same 
object.  Not  only  must  they  train  their  children  to  habits  of 
benevolence,  early  impressing  them  that  the  principal  value  of 
money  consists  in  its  subserviency  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  — 
they  must  look  higher  and  farther  even  than  this.  They 
must  themselves  feel  that  the  chief  value  even  of  their  chil- 
dren, consists  in  their  consecration  to  the  same  glorious 
cause.  And,  therefore,  they  must  early  begin  to  train  them 
to  take  part  in  it ;  instructing  them  in  the  nature  and  prog- 
ress of  Christian  missions;  impressing  it  on  them  that  the 
conversion  of  the  world  to  Christianity  is  the  noblest  enter- 
prise in  which  they  can  engage ;  inspiring  them,  if  consistent 
with  other  claims,  with  zeal  to  embark  in  it;  and  in  the 
event  of  their  so  doing,  preparing,  as  far  as  possible,  to  sup- 
port them  in  it. 

Christian  ministers  must  not  regard  the  fact  that  they  are 


IN    RELATION    TO    MISSIONS.  345 

occupying  spheres  of  usefulness  at  home,  as  a  sufficient  rea- 
son for  declining  to  enter  the  missionary  field.  They  are  to 
consider,  that  as  long  as  the  demand  for  laborers  is  so  much 
greater  among  the  heathen  than  it  is  here,  there  is  a  standing 
call  in  Providence  to  exercise  their  ministry  among  them  ; 
and  that  unless  they  can  show  the  best  reasons  for  non-com- 
pliance, they  are  bound  to  listen  and  obey.  Should  such 
reasons,  however,  exist,  they  must  be  missionaries  at  home. 
Their  ministry,  to  be  effective,  must  develop  all  the  resources 
of  the  church,  and  bring  them  forth  into  actual  operation. 
The  holder  of  the  five  talents  was  to  increase  them,  not  by 
acting  without  them,  but  with  them ;  and  the  man  of  God, 
when  put  in  trust  with  the  ministry  of  a  particular  church,  is 
to  look  on  each  of  its  members  as  a  talent  concerning  which 
the  divine  Proprietor  is  saying,  "Occupy  till  I  come  —  em- 
ploy every  member  —  every  moment  and  faculty  of  every 
member  —  to  the  best  advantage,  that  each  may  be  the  means 
of  winning  another,  and  that  my  church  of  five  hundred  may 
be  the  means  of  gaining  other  five  hundred  more."  With 
this  solemn  charge  resting  on  his  spirit,  he  will  feel  that  his 
first  object  is  to  make  the  most  of  that  church,  with  whose 
instrumentality  his  Lord  has  intrusted  him.  Its  members 
may  not  be  educated,  wealthy,  numerous,  nor,  in  a  worldly 
sense,  influential.  But  they  are  such  as  God  hath  collected 
and  formed  into  a  church,  to  take  part  in  his  sublime  purpose 
of  saving  the  world.  One  thing  is  certain,  therefore,  that 
they  are  all  to  be  employed.  In  this  sense,  there  are  to  be 
no  "private  Christians"  among  them.  Every  believer  is  a 
public  man,  taken  up  into  the  universal  designs  of  the  God 
of  grace.  In  whatever  sense  they  are  private,  then,  like  the 
ranks  of  an  army  all  are  to  take  the  field ;  the  only  concern 
of  the  minister  must  be  how  to  dispose  of  his  forces  so  as  to 
render  them  most  effective  in  the  cause  of  God.  A  ministry 
which  begins  and  ends  with  itself — however  pious,  intelli- 
gent, and  eloquent  it  may  be  —  is  only  the  ministry  of  one 
man ;  and  even  that  counteracted,  neutralized,  and  often 
rendered  worse  than  useless,  by  the  slumbering  and  selfish 
inactivity  of  the  people.  But  a  ministry  which  sets  and 
keeps  in  motion  an  entire  church,  however  destitute  it  may 
be  of  other  qualifications,  becomes,  in  effect,  the  ministry  of 
all  its  members,  and  thus  proves  an  instrumentality  of  the 
widest  influence  and  of  the  greatest  efficiency.  And  never 
till  the  entire  church  is  thus  moved,  and  all  its  resources  put 


346  THE    WANTS    OF   THE    CHURCH 

into  actual  requisition,  will  the  full  value  of  the  Christian 
ministry  be  seen ;  for  never  till  then  will  it  fully  answer  the 
high  object  of  its  divine  appointment  in  the  conversion  of 
mankind. 

Why  should  not  each  church,  or  Christian  community, 
take  into  sober  consideration  what  is  its  proportion  of  the 
agency  necessary  to  evangelize  the  world?  Every  church 
has  its  few  active  and  its  many  indolent  members;  or,  at 
least,  those  who  are  kept  from  indolence  chiefly,  to  avoid  the 
shame  and  the  remonstrances  to  which  it  would  lead;  and 
well  do  the  few  know  that  if  the  many  were  as  active  as 
themselves,  their  collective  usefulness  might  be  greatly  in- 
creased. And  well  does  each  of  our  great  missionary  socie- 
ties know  that  if  all  the  unemployed  resources  of  the  com- 
munity to  which  it  belongs  were  but  brought  out  from  the 
napkin  in  which  they  are  shrouded,  and  from  under  the 
bushel  where  they  are  hid,  and  placed  at  its  disposal,  soon 
might  the  sphere  of  its  operations  be  enlarged  to  an  almost 
indefinite  extent.  Now,  this  must  be  done.  The  Lord  of 
the  church  has  made  it  the  duty  of  his  people  statedly  to  pray 
that  more  laborers  may  be  sent  forth  into  the  moral  harvest. 
But  this  supposes  that  we  are  all  anxious  to  furnish  the  requi- 
site number,  and  that  as  soon  as  any  who  are  eligible  for  the 
work  appear  in  the  church,  we  regard  it  as  an  answer  to  our 
prayers,  and  take  the  necessary  steps  for  sending  them  forth. 
Accordingly,  instead  of  contenting  itself  with  an  annual  con- 
tribution merely,  each  church  must  become,  in  a  sense,  a 
complete  missionary  society.  If  suitable  agents,  or  those  who 
may  be  made  such,  exist  within  its  bosom,  it  must  seek  them 
out,  and  press  them  into  the  service.  If  the  minister  himself 
should  express  a  desire  to  dedicate  himself  to  the  work,  let 
the  people  generously  sacrifice  their  own  wishes  for  the  good 
of  the  heathen.  If  the  missionary  preacher  cannot  be  found 
among  them,  the  missionary  layman  may.  If  the  wealthy 
Christian  has  no  higher  reason  for  remaining  at  home  than 
that  which  arises  from  his  comfort  and  convenience,  he  must 
be  affectionately  admonished  that  the  least  he  can  do  is  to 
send  and  support  a  missionary  in  his  stead.  The  churches 
severally  must  feel  a  distinct  responsibility ;  each  must  per- 
form a  portion  of  duty ;  the  whole  work  must  be  taken  up 
more  in  detail ;  and  each  individual  Christian  must  have  the 
appeal  carried  home  to  his  conscience  as  to  the  manner 
and  the  extent  in  which  he  will  obey  the  last  command  of 


IN    RELATION    TO   MISSIONS.  347 

Christ,  till  he  feels  that  it  is  a  question  which  he  must  per- 
sonally, and  in  the  presence  of  God,  decide. 

The  church  universal  must  unite.  Not  only  must  denom- 
inations of  Christians  verbally  acknowledge  the  common 
guilt  of  their  existing  dissensions  —  they  must  be  seen  practi- 
cally repenting,  sympathizing,  cooperating,  and  even  emu- 
lating with  each  other  in  the  sublime  struggle  of  saving  a 
world  of  souls  from  death.  u  The  plague  is  begun."  For 
ages  the  plague  has  prevailed.  Countless  myriads  of  immor- 
tal beings  have,  in  consequence,  perished.  And  still  its  des- 
olating influence  sweeps  over  the  nations.  The  recovery  or 
destruction  of  unknown  multitudes  depends  on  the  instant 
application  of  the  divine  remedy.  That  remedy  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  church ;  and  it  is  there  that  she  may  rush  with 
it  "  between  the  dead  and  the  living."  And  what  she  may 
do,  she  must  do ;  nor  must  she  expect  to  achieve  "  any  de- 
liverance in  the  earth,"  any  signal  or  final  triumph,  until  she 
has  laid  herself  out  to  the  utmost  with  a  view  to  it.  "When 
Zion  travailed,  she  brought  forth,"  and  not  till  then.  "  A 
woman  when  she  is  in  travail  hath  sorrow;"  and  so  has  a 
church  laboring,  and  in  pangs  for  the  regeneration  of  the 
world.  The  only  question  with  such  a  church  will  be,  and 
the  only  consideration  for  us  must  be,  Is  it  within  the  com- 
pass of  our  power  to  send  the  gospel  through  the  world? 
Not  whether  we  can  send  it  with  a  small  effort,  or  in  a  way 
which  shall  not  materially  interfere  with  our  favorite  plans  of 
ease  and  habits  of  personal  gratification.  But  can  we,  by 
"  strong  crying  and  tears,"  by  the  practical  activity  of  a  bold 
and  vigorous  faith,  by  the  most  strenuous  and  persevering 
exertions,  furnish  a  dying  world,  the  Savior's  world,  with 
the  means  of  salvation  ?  The  question  must  be  answered  by 
the  actual  experiment  of  unreserved  devotedness. 


PART  VI. 


MOTIVES  TO  ENFORCE  THE  ENTIRE  CONSECRATION  OF 
CHRISTIANS  TO  THE  GREAT  OBJECTS  OF  THE  MIS- 
SIONARY   ENTERPRISE. 


It  now  remains  that  we  exhibit  and  enforce  some  of  the 
motives  which  exist  for  entire  consecration  to  the  great  ob- 
jects of  the  missionary  enterprise.  And  remembering  how 
much  may  depend,  under  God,  on  their  right  selection  and 
earnest  inculcation,  the  writer  cannot  but  humbly  and  earn- 
estly implore  the  gracious  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  none 
of  the  precious  and  momentous  interests  involved  may  suffer 
in  his  hands.  As  if  all  the  heathen  world  were  present  as 
his  clients,  and  he  were  pleading  for  them  in  the  audience 
of  the  entire  church  assembled  on  their  behalf,  and  within 
hearing  of  the  reproaches  of  the  myriads  whom  the  church 
has  suffered  to  go  down  unwarned  to  perdition,  and  within 
sight  of  the  great  tribunal,  and  of  Him  who  sits  on  it,  he 
would  faithfully,  affectionately,  solemnly  urge  the  duty  of 
unreserved  devotedness  as  the  only  hope,  from  the  church, 
for  the  heathen  world.  Let  Christians,  then,  devoutly  consider 
the  grounds  on  which  we  urge  this,  and  the  reasons  which 
bind  them  to  comply  —  reasons  so  affecting  and  weighty  that 
although  the  wisest  and  the  holiest  men  have  in  all  ages 
united  to  enforce  them  with  tears  and  entreaties,  and  though 
some  of  these  men  of  God  appeared  to  have  been  continued 
on  earth  chiefly  to  enforce  them,  devoting  their  whole  lives 
to  the  work,  yet  they  never  have,  never  can  have,  full  justice 
done  to  them ;  reasons  so  vast,  that  in  order  to  comprehend 
them,  we  must  compute  the  worth  of  all  the  souls  perishing 
in  ignorance  of  Christ,  through  the  want  of  it,  and  of  all  the 
glory  which  through  eternity  would  redound  to  God  from 
their  conversion  ;  and  reasons  so  deeply  laid   in   the  divine 


CONSECRATION  TO  MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.     349 

purposes,  that  the  great  object  of  the  advent  itself — the  sal- 
vation of  the  world  —  is  suspended  on  their  taking  effect. 

Some  of  those  reasons  we  have  enforced  already  ;  not  wait- 
ing till  we  approached  the  close  of  the  subject,  but  urging 
them  as  they  arose  successively  out  of  the  various  Parts. 
Indeed,  the  whole  of  the  First  Part  may  be  considered  as  an 
exposition  of  the  scriptural  obligations  to  the  duty ;  while 
the  Second  Part,  on  the  benefits  of  the  missionary  enterprise, 
afforded  us  an  opportunity  of  showing  that  the  nearer  we 
have  approached  to  entire  devotedness,  the  greater  have  been 
the  advantages  to  ourselves  and  others ;  the  Third  Part,  on 
missionary  encouragements,  showed  that  nothing  but  such 
devotedness  is  requisite  in  order  to  give  the  gospel  to  all 
mankind ;  even  the  objections  to  the  missionary  object,  enu- 
merated in  the  Fourth  Part,  were  shown  to  be  either  utterly 
unfounded,  or  easily  convertible  into  motives  to  the  most  self- 
denying  zeal  for  its  advancement ;  and  the  Fifth  Part  pro- 
fessed to  show  that  such  consecration  forms  the  moral  fitness 
which  the  church  wants,  and  to  specify  the  various  respects 
in  which,  under  God,  it  would  tend  to  supply  our  missionary 
defects. 

I.  We  would  now  entreat  the  reader  to  consider  that  this 
entire  devotedness  is  called  for,  if  only  to  retrieve,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  evil  effects  of  our  past  conduct,  both  as  individual 
Christians,  and  as  members  of  the  visible  and  universal  church. 
As  converted  men,  we  can  probably  look  back  to  a  period 
when  we  lived  exclusively  to  ourselves.  During  the  whole 
of  that  time,  we  are  to  remember,  our  life  was  planted  in 
battery  against  Christ.  Through  that  entire  period,  our 
character  was  full  of  influence  —  daily  and  hourly  increasing 
the  power  of  old  trains  of  evil  influence,  or  originating  new 
ones.  Each  of  these  trains  is  still  in  existence ;  all  of  them 
are  at  this  moment  in  operation  somewhere ;  some  of  them 
doubtless  in  eternity,  in  hell.  Tremendous  reflection!  they 
have  entered  into  the  character  of  some  of  the  lost  —  become 
elements  of  damnation ;  and  are  now,  while  we  are  here  at 
ease,  imparting  a  darker  shade  of  malignity  to  their  thoughts, 
and  deeper,  hoarser  accents  to  their  blasphemies.  And  on 
they  will  go,  extending  and  multiplying  their  fearful  effects, 
till  all  of  them  have  worked  out  and  discharged  their  proper 
results  in  the  same  appalling  issue.  And  is  it  for  us  to  be 
now  satisfied  with  the  consecration  of  less  than  the  whole  of 
30 


350  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE   CONSECRATION 

our  remaining  influence  to  counteract  the  evil  ?  Even  if 
Christ  did  not  expressly  require  it,  —  if  he  were  even  to  give 
us  a  dispensation  from  it,  —  would  our  sense  of  obligation,  our 
agony  of  solicitude  to  retrieve  the  past,  allow  us  to  accept  it  1 
If  tears  could  wash  away  the  evil  of  the  past,  could  we  do 
less  than  wish  that  our  head  were  a  fountain  of  waters,  that 
we  might  weep  night  and  day  1  But  tears  cannot ;  to  remove 
its  guilt  there  must  be  blood  of  infinite  value ;  and  to  coun- 
teract its  depraving  influence,  a  spirit  of  almighty  power ; 
while  all  that  we  can  do  —  and  surely  we  shall  not  plead  for 
doing  less — is  to  be  the  devoted,  unintermitting  channel  for 
the  communication  of  both  to  the  world. 

Besides  which,  we  now  stand  related  to  the  Christian 
church ;  and  this  entire  devotedness  is  called  for  to  retrieve 
the  effects,  not  only  of  our  own  conduct,  but  also  of  those 
who  for  ages  have  been  the  professed  representatives  of  dis- 
honored Christianity  to  the  world.  Let  us  think  what  that 
conduct,  age  after  age,  has  been.  From  the  moment  the 
command  went  forth,  "  Preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature," 
the  world  was  divided  into  two  classes.  Those  who  possessed 
the  gospel  were  to  view  themselves  as  standing  to  the  rest  of 
mankind  in  the  relation  of  guardians  —  agents  of  mercy — 
instruments  of  salvation.  What  they  ought  to  have  been  we 
have  seen  —  alas !  how  perfect  the  contrast  to  what  they  have 
been  !  It  is  fearful  to  think  that,  since  then,  forty  thousand 
millions  of  human  beings  should  have  been  allowed  to  pass 
through  this  world  of  guilt  and  woe  on  their  way  to  a  dark 
and  dreadful  eternity,  without  having  heard  from  the  church 
a  single  accent  of  mercy  and  salvation.  It  is  startling  and 
alarming  to  reflect  that  there  should  be  a  greater  number  of 
heathen  in  the  world  at  this  moment,  than  at  any  previous 
period  since  the  gospel  dispensation  commenced ;  greater 
even  than  about  fifty  years  ago,  when  the  modern  missionary 
effort  began  ;  for  while,  owing  to  our  languid  measures,  we 
are  proselyting  them  only  at  the  rate  of  some  hundreds  or 
thousands  annually,  they  are  yearly  adding  to  their  ranks, 
by  mere  increase  of  population,  about  three  millions  and 
a  half. 

But  we  speak  not  of  mere  neglect.  Simply  to  have  dis- 
regarded the  command  of  Christ  to  evangelize  them,  would 
have  been  harmless,  perfect  innocence,  compared  with  what 
men  called  Christians  have  done  under  the  pretence  of  obey- 
ing it.     Simply  to  have  left  the  heathen  to  perish  in  igno- 


TO   THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  351 

ranee  and  idolatry,  would  have  been  mercy,  benevolence, 
compared  with  the  cruelties  they  practised  under  the  name 
of  conversion.  As  they  ascended,  generation  after  genera- 
tion, to  the  bar  of  God,  and  were  asked  the  solemn  question, 
"  Where  is  thy  heathen  brother?  "  to  have  been  able  to  reply, 
"  Gone  down  unwarned  to  perdition,"  would  have  been  com- 
parative merit.  But  his  blood  was  on  their  hands  —  they 
were  there  reeking  from  his  slaughter  —  his  injured  spirit  was 
there  to  accuse  them.  Let  us  track  their  progress  among 
the  heathen  ;  and,  if  we  can  find  it  by  no  other  marks,  we 
have  only  to  select  the  path  most  strewed  with  the  wrecks  of 
humanity  —  it  is  sure  to  be  theirs.  What  was  Southern 
America  a  century  after  the  first  nominal  Christians  landed 
there  ?  the  vast  and  crowded  sepulchre  of  her  murdered  sons. 
Ask  Northern  America,  Where  are  thy  children  of  a  thou- 
sand tribes?  and  the  hill  and  the  valley  which  knew  them 
once  can  only  echo,  Where?  —  for  men  called  Christians 
have  been  among  them.  A  voice  is  heard  in  the  south, 
"  lamentation  and  bitter  weeping,  [Africa]  weeping  for  her 
children,  refuses  to  be  comforted  because  they  are  not.  Thus 
saith  the  Lord,  Refrain  thy  voice  from  weeping,  and  thine 
eyes  from  tears ;  for  thy  work  shall  be  rewarded,  saith  the 
Lord ;  and  they  shall  come  again  from  the  land  of  the  enemy. 
And  there  is  hope  in  thine  end,  saith  the  Lord,  that  thy  chil- 
dren shall  come  again  to  thine  own  border."  But  whose  is 
that  land  of  the  enemy  ?  and  why  were  they  taken  there  ? 
whose  can  it  be  but  the  land  of  Christians?  and  what  could 
they  aim  at  but  their  conversion  ?  Unexampled  infatuation  ! 
In  each  of  the  instances  we  have  named,  the  system  of  fiend- 
ish iniquity  was  commenced  in  the  dishonored  name  of  Christ, 
and  for  the  professed  extension  of  the  faith.  And  yet  —  un- 
paralleled inconsistency! — the  only  men  they  martyred 
were  those  who  attempted  scripturally  to  extend  that  faith ! 

But  speak  we  of  the  past  ?  Still  the  evil  rages  and  extends. 
At  this  moment,  men  called  Christians  are  the  main  props  of 
idolatry  in  India  —  more  useful  to  Juggernaut  than  his  own 
hereditary  priests.  They  aspire  not  to  serve  at  his  altar  ; 
they  are  content  to  hold  up  his  train.  Jesus  and  Juggernaut 
are  alike  to  them  ;  and  they  lend  the  sacred  shield  of  the 
one,  to  guard  the  blood-stained  and  worn-out  throne  of  the 
other.  Slavery,  under  another  name,  driven  from  disem- 
bowelled Africa,  is  coasting  other  shores,  seeking  whom  it 
may  devour.     The  monster  has  tasted  blood,  and  will  not 


352  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE   CONSECRATION 

soon  be  driven  from  human  flesh.  Colonization  and  com- 
merce still  advance,  with  murder  in  their  van.  Those  ships, 
whose  holds  are  filled  with  distilled  poison;  those  decks, 
piled  with  the  instruments  of  destruction;  that  large  fleet, 
freighted  with  opium — all  proclaim  their  sleepless  activity 
and  their  chosen  means.  Go,  mark  the  thousand  shores  and 
islands  of  the  Pacific,  and  say,  with  what  are  their  tribes 
maddened,  but  with  the  liquid  fires  which  they  have  im- 
ported? with  what  are  they  slaughtering  each  other,  but 
with  the  weapons  which  their  hands  have  supplied?  with 
what  are  they  pining  and  wasting  away,  but  with  the  loath- 
some diseases  which  their  vices  have  left  behind  ?  Mission- 
aries of  Christ !  is  there  a  single  coast,  a  solitary  island, 
whose  virgin  soil  has  not  yet  been  defiled  by  their  touch  ? 
Hasten  away ;  or  they  will  be  there  before  you ;  there,  to 
propagate  an  influence  which  ages  of  Christian  effort  will  not 
be  able  to  efface;  there,  to  render  the  Christian  name  a 
name  for  avarice  and  treachery,  licentiousness  and  blood. 

True,  there  are  exceptions  to  these  statements ;  but  rare 
exceptions  they  are.  True,  most  of  the  actors  in  these  tragic 
scenes  have  been  Christians  only  in  name ;  but  in  name  they 
have  been,  and  therein  lies  the  evil.  True,  we  are  not 
directly  answerable  for  the  evil ;  but  deeply  implicated  we 
are.  When  Christians  should  have  been  protesting,  counter- 
acting, moving  heaven  and  earth  against  it,  they  all  slum- 
bered and  slept.  Were  they  not  thenlmplicated  in  the  guilt? 
And  the  only  condition  on  which  we  can  escape  the  same 
implication  is,  by  doing  what  they  neglected.  Let  us  omit  a 
single  prayer ;  withhold  a  single  mite  ;  send  out  a  single  mis- 
sionary less  than  we  could ;  delay  a  single  moment  to  do  any 
thing  short  of  all  we  can  do ;  and,  during  that  moment,  and 
to  the  full  amount  of  that  neglected  means,  we  are  implicated 
in  the  guilt,  and  are  abetting  the  destructive  influences,  which 
for  ages  have  been  turning  the  Christian  name  among  the 
heathen  into  a  curse. 

Even  if  it  were  possible  for  Christians  instrumentally  to 
arrest  and  annihilate  at  a  blow  all  the  wide-spread  machinery 
of  evil  which  they  have  allowed  to  cover  the  earth  in  their 
name,  ages  would  elapse,  time  itself  must  expire  before  the 
pernicious  influence  of  what  has  been  done  would  cease  to 
work  against  them.  But,  till  that  blow  be  struck,  not  only  will 
those  evil  influences  already  in  action  continue  to  extend,  — 
new  ones  will  be  daily  originated  and  augmenting  their  force. 


TO   THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  353 

For  the  sake  of  the  Christian  name,  then,  in  which  the  foulest 
atrocities  have  been  committed ;  for  the  sake  of  the  church 
which  has  guiltily  allowed  it ;  for  the  sake  of  that  world 
which  has  meantime  suffered  the  dreadful  effects,  and  which 
often  thrusts  away  the  cup  of  salvation  because  proffered  by 
Christian  hands,  let  no  one  bearing  the  Christian  name  live 
to  himself.  Could  each  one  multiply  himself  and  his  means 
a  thousand  fold,  all  would  be  necessary,  if  only  to  retrieve 
the  guilt  of  the  past. 

II.  Entire  devotedness  to  the  cause  of  Christ  is  necessary, 
not  only  to  retrieve  the  past,  but  as  the  only  alternative  of 
partial  hostility  against  him  at  present.  He  that  is  not  with 
me,  saith  Christ  —  and  therefore  during  every  moment  in 
which  he  is  not  with  me  —  is  against  me.  Lax  views  on  this 
subject  are  the  origin  of  much  of  that  inferior  piety  by  which 
the  church  is  enfeebled,  and  its  usefulness  impaired.  Chris- 
tians generally  appear  to  proceed  on  the  supposition  that  there 
is  a  sense  in  which  they  are  still  partially  their  own  ;  that 
there  are  considerable  portions  of  their  time  in  which  they 
are  at  perfect  liberty  to  relax  as  they  please;  that  at  such 
times  their  conduct  is  quite  neutral  in  its  influence ;  that  any 
thing  short  of  positive  hostility  against  Christ,  is  to  be  put 
down  to  the  account  of  so  much  service  done  for  him.  Now, 
were  this  supposition  as  true  as  it  is  false  —  were  it  quite 
possible  for  the  Christian  to  withhold  from  Christ  a  portion 
of  his  resources,  without  rendering  by  such  an  act  the. least 
advantage  to  the  foe,  it  would  still  be  highly  inconsistent  and 
unjust.  For  at  the  very  moment  we  are  relaxing  in  his  ser- 
vice, unnumbered  agencies  of  his  are  at  work  for  us.  At  the 
moment  we  are  self-indulging,  we  are  doing  it  with  his 
money,  in  his  time,  at  his  expense,  by  the  light  of  his  sun. 
But  when  we  remember  that  every  particle  of  influence  with- 
held from  Christ,  is  so  much  employed  against  him  ;  that 
neutrality  here  is  impossible,  —  the  consequences  of  such  con- 
duct are  alarming.  Were  it  possible  for  us  to  ascend  some 
mount  of  vision  whence  we  could  look  down  upon  the  conse- 
quences of  our  conduct,  we  should  see  that  at  the  moment 
when  we  thought  ourselves  most  perfectly  detached  from  all 
around  us,  there  is  a  sense  in  which  we  were  then  standing 
in  the  midst  of  the  universe  with  lines  of  relation  uniting 
us  with  all  its  multitudes.  We  should  see  that  often,  when 
we  thought  our  character  most  unobserved  and  at  rest,  it  was 
30* 


MOTIVES   TO    ENTIRE   CONSECRATION 

giving  out  moral  influences  without  intermission ;  that  the 
moment  they  ceased  to  be  good,  they  began  to  be  evil ; 
that,  however  apparently  unimportant,  they  have  ever  since 
been  swelling  that  tide  of  evil  by  which  myriads  are  borne 
on  to  perdition.  We  should  see  that  the  world  is  the  scene 
of  a  moral  conflict ;  that  in  that  conflict  we  hold  an  appointed 
post ;  that  at  that  post  every  thing  we  possess  is  a  weapon  of 
war ;  that  never  have  we  ceased  to  wield  it  either  for  evil  or 
for  good ;  for  the  moment  in  which  we  thought  we  were  only 
pausing,  a  shout  of  joy  ran  through  the  ranks  of  the  invisi- 
ble foe,  who  beheld  in  that  pause  a  proof  of  our  weakness, 
and  the  sign  and  means  of  their  own  strength ;  so  that  when 
we  thought  we  were  only  doing  nothing  for  Christ,  they 
hailed  us  as  an  accession  to  their  own  ranks  acting  against 
him ;  and  thus  we  should  see  why  it  is  that  Meroz  was  cursed 
because  they  came  not  out  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  and  why 
it  is  that,  in  the  final  judgment,  those  who  did  nothing  will  find 
themselves  standing  side  by  side  with  them  that  did  evil,  and 
involved  in  the  same  condemnation. 

It  follows,  then,  that  if  we  are  doing  a  particle  less  than  all 
we  can  do  for  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  we  are  incurring  a 
proportion  of  the  guilt  of  those  who  are  doing  nothing,  and 
for  the  very  same  reason.  The  obligation  which  binds  us  to 
take  any  part  in  the  grand  conflict  which  is  waging,  not 
only  holds  us  responsible  for  doing  every  thing  in  our  utmost 
power,  but  actually  regards  whatever  is  short  of  this  as  so 
much  opposition,  with  our  cognizance,  against  him.  Let  us 
not  suppose,  then,  that  because  we  are  doing  something,  we 
are  sufficiently  demonstrating  our  fidelity  to  his  cause ;  if 
we  are  only  doing  one  third,  so  to  speak,  of  what  we  could 
do,  the  other  two  thirds  are  operating,  as  ours,  in  hostility 
against  him,  as  truly  as  that  one  third  is  operating,  as  ours, 
in  his  behalf.  If  there  be,  for  instance,  somewhere  in  the 
heathen  world  a  certain  amount  or  form  of  evil  which  my 
agency,  armed  with  power  from  Heaven,  might  entirely  sub- 
due, and  I  have  aimed  at  the  destruction  of  only  one  half  of 
it,  the  other  half  must  be  regarded  as  my  agency  for  uphold- 
ing the  cause  of  idolatry.  If  a  church,  or  an  individual, 
support  —  as  some  do — a  native  teacher  of  Christianity  in 
India,  on  the  condition  that  he  be  called  by  the  name  of  the 
Christian  contributor,  and  if,  while  supporting  only  one,  he 
could  support  two,  he  must  be  regarded  as  working  there  by 
two  representatives  —  one  for  Christ,  the  other  against  him. 


TO   THE   MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE.  355 

True,  the  second  or  evil  agent  has  not  been  named  after  him, 
is  not  supported  by  him  ;  but  inasmuch  as  he  could,  by  the 
divine  blessing,  be  counteracting  double  the  amount  of  evil 
influence  which  he  is,  that  portion  of  it  against  which  he 
proclaims  no  war,  and  makes  no  effort,  is  to  be  held  as  work- 
ing against  Christ,  with  his  connivance,  and  in  his  name. 
Precious  influence  !  each  grain  of  which  exceeds  all  calcula- 
ble value.  Well  might  our  Lord  be  jealous  for  every  particle; 
since  there  are  but  two  treasuries  in  the  universe,  one  for 
him,  and  the  other  for  Satan ;  so  that  every  grain  withheld 
from  his  falls  into  and  enriches  the  other.  And  well  may 
the  Christian  regard  himself  with  all  the  sacredness  of  a 
temple,  since  he  cannot  yield  himself  to  any  other  claimant 
than  Christ,  even  for  a  moment,  without  yielding  himself, 
during  that  moment,  to  a  hostile  party.  So  that,  in  truth,  our 
only  escape  from  partial  hostility  to  Christ,  is  that  of  unre- 
served devotedness  to  his  service. 

III.  The  reference  we  have  made  to  the  great  moral  con- 
flict which  is  pending,  reminds  us  next,  that  the  state  of  the 
heathen  is  such  as  to  require  the  entire  amount  of  Christian 
influence  for  its  amelioration.  It  is  affecting  to  think  that 
while  we  are  sitting,  perhaps  in  our  home,  comparatively  un- 
moved, there  are,  elsewhere,  above  six  hundred  millions  of  our 
race  under  the  almost  undisturbed  domination  of  Satan ;  that 
these  myriads  are  the  wretched  survivors  of  untold  genera- 
tions, who  have  lived  and  died  under  the  same  vassalage; 
that,  as  if  they  were  born  and  were  living  in  hell  instead  of 
on  earth,  the  destroyer  is  living  and  walking  amongst  them ; 
and  that  almost  all  the  influences  under  which  they  pass 
across  the  stage  of  life,  and  which  are  perpetually  darting 
and  acting  upon  them  from  all  sides  round,  are  the  influences 
of  a  system  which  he  has  been  thousands  of  years  construct- 
ing and  maturing  ;  to  which  he  has  been  constantly  adding 
something,  and  the  sole  merit  of  which,  in  his  eyes,  consists 
in  the  efficacy  and  certainty  with  which  it  invades  and  de- 
stroys them.  Such,  we  may  suppose,  was  the  sight  which 
Jesus  beheld,  when  from  the  mountain's  top  the  tempter 
meant  that  he  should  see  only  "  the  kingdoms  of  the  world 
and  the  glory  of  them."  And  is  it  true,  that  after  the  gos- 
pel has  been  amongst  us  nearly  two  thousand  years,  that 
spectacle  is  to  be  seen  still  ?  Ascend,  in  thought,  the  same 
mount — we  might  say  to  the   inquirer — and  you   behold 


356  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE   CONSECRATION 

substantially  the  same  vision.  Take  a  hasty  glance  at  them, 
at  least ;  more  you  cannot ;  for  were  they  to  assume  the  most 
dense  and  compacted  form,  days  must  elapse  before  they 
would  all  have  passed.  Look  down  upon  them  —  if  the  thick 
darkness  which  hangs  over  them  will  permit ;  look  down  and 
mark  their  condition.  Listen  to  the  din  of  the  great  Babel : 
do  you  hear  any  voice  of  prayer  1  do  you  see  any  hopeful 
sign  ?  It  is  true  they  have  priests  —  but  they  are  impostors 
and  murderers  ;  and  altars  —  but  they  are  stained  with  human 
blood ;  and  objects  of  worship  —  but  they  "  sacrifice  to  devils, 
and  not  to  God."  Look  closer  still ;  and  as  you  look,  think 
of  all  the  elements  of  influence  —  ancestry  —  wealth  —  num- 
bers—  you  cannot  name  one  which  is  not  made  to  minister  to 
their  destruction.  Enumerate  the  vices  —  avarice,  sensuality, 
revenge  —  you  cannot  specify  one  which  is  not,  not  merely 
imbodied,  but  adored ;  for  these  are  their  gods,  under  other 
names.  You  cannot  point  out  a  single  object  in  the  air,  the 
earth,  or  the  waters,  which  might  be  pressed  into  the  service 
of  sin,  and  which  is  not  actually  so  employed.  You  cannot 
discover  a  single  individual  who  is  not  acting  on  every  other 
being  in  all  that  countless  mass  in  confirmation  of  their  com- 
mon depravity.  You  cannot  name  a  sense  of  the  body,  a 
faculty  of  the  soul,  an  evil  propensity  of  our  nature,  which  is 
not  seized  and  held  fast  by  as  many  hands  as  some  of  their 
false  divinities  possess,  and  which  does  not  lend  its  willing 
aid  in  return.  You  cannot  name  a  single  moment,  from  birth 
to  death,  in  which  the  whole  of  this  infernal  machinery  is 
not  every  where  in  destructive  activity,  shedding  poison  and 
raining  death ;  an  activity,  compared  with  which  the  utmost 
mechanical  velocity,  or  the  still  greater  activity  of  the  mate- 
rial elements  themselves,  are  mere  quiet  and  repose. 

And  having  surveyed  this  dense  array  of  evil  —  having  ex- 
plored this  living  continent  of  depravity  —  do  you  wonder 
that  God  does  not  burn  it  from  the  earth  ?  —  does  not  forth- 
with sweep  the  whole  of  these  myriads  away  with  the  besom 
of  destruction  1  Them  !  Destroy  them  !  Their  guilt  is,  in 
one  respect,  venial,  compared  with  the  sin  of  the  Christian 
church.  Their  state,  fearful  as  it  is,  is  explicable,  compared 
with  the  conduct  of  those  who  hold  in  their  hands  the  known 
means  of  their  rescue,  but  refuse  to  employ  them. 

Look,  we  entreat  you,  look  at  those  myriads  again.  You 
think,  perhaps,  that  you  do  see  them  ;  many,  at  least,  may 
flatter  themselves  that  they  do ;  but,  no,  they  have  not  yet  — 


TO   THE    MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE.  357 

their  conduct  proves  it.  See,  the  countless  mass  is  at  wor- 
ship —  before  the  throne  of  Satan,  glowing  as  with  the  heat 
of  an  infernal  furnace  —  with  rage,  lust,  and  cruelty,  for  their 
religious  emotions.  Look  at  them  again  —  their  demon  wor- 
ship is  over ;  but,  are  they  satisfied  1  How  eager  their  looks  ! 
how  objectless  and  restless  their  movements !  how  the  living 
mass  of  misery  heaves,  and  surges,  and  groans,  and  travails 
in  pain  together ! 

Look  at  them  once  more ;  they  are  travellers  into  eternity ; 
mark,  how  vast  the  procession  they  form,  how  close  their 
ranks,  how  continuous  the  line,  how  constant  and  steady  the 
advance  !  Do  you  see  them  now  ?  Then  you  see  that  angry 
cloud  which  hangs  over  their  ranks  —  which  moves  as  they 
move  —  and  which  ever  and  anon  emits  a  lurid  flash ;  it  is 
stored  with  the  materials  of  judicial  wrath.  Do  you  mark 
them  still  ?  Then  you  see  that  thousands  of  them  have 
reached  the  edge  of  a  tremendous  gulf —  it  is  the  gulf  of 
perdition,  and  they  are  standing  on  the  very  brink.  Are  you 
sure  that  you  see  them  ?  God  of  mercy  !  They  are  falling 
over  —  they  are  gone !  And  we  never,  never  tried  to  save 
them !  Father,  forgive  us ;  we  know  not  what  we  do.  Sa- 
viour of  sinners,  spare  us  yet  another  year.  We  know  they 
are  lost  —  lost  to  happiness  and  lost  to  thee  !  We  could  have 
told  them  of  thee  —  shown  them  thy  cross  —  given  them  thy 
gospel  —  pointed  them  the  way  to  heaven.     But  they  are  lost ! 

Talk  not  of  enthusiasm !  He  who  has  felt  most  has  not 
yet  felt  enough.  We  are  speaking  of  scenes  of  misery  over 
which  a  Paul  wept  with  anguish !  We  are  living  in  the  very 
world  for  which  Christ  bled  in  agony !  Those  very  scenes 
which  hardly  raise  an  emotion  in  us,  are  the  scenes  which 
moved  the  heart  of  God  —  which  produced  the  cross  of 
Christ.  So  that  were  every  Christian  to  tremble  with  emo- 
tion —  were  the  members  of  every  church  to  meet  on  the 
subject,  to  start  from  their  supineness  as  one  man,  and  to 
utter  a  loud  cry  of  lamentation  —  were  the  whole  church  to 
be  seized  as  in  travail  for  souls,  it  would  be  only  what  sym- 
pathy with  Christ  requires,  and  what  the  state  of  a  perishing 
world  demands. 

IV.  The  duty  of  intense  devotedness  to  the  work  of  im- 
parting the  gospel  is  greatly  increased  by  the  remarkable  man- 
ner in  which  Providence  has  brought  and  placed  the  world  at 
our  feet  in  order  to  receive  it. 


358  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE   CONSECRATION 

There  might  have  been  but  one  unenlightened  district  left 
on  the  face  of  the  earth  —  but  one  unconverted  man  —  and 
he  a  miserable  object,  the  lone  inhabitant  of  some  distant  and 
desert  isle.  Yet  such  is  the  human  soul,  so  incomparably 
superior,  owing  to  its  spiritual  nature,  its  endless  duration, 
and  its  vast  capabilities,  to  the  whole  material  universe,  and 
so  momentous  an  object  is  its  recovery  in  the  estimation  of 
Christ,  that,  if  necessary,  it  would  be  the  duty  of  all  the 
other  inhabitants  of  the  earth  to  have  embarked  their  treas- 
ures, joined  their  supplications,  combined  and  taxed  their 
utmost  resources,  for  the  conversion  of  that  solitary  man. 
But  if  all  this  would  be  justified  for  the  salvation  of  one  man  — 
if  a  particle  less  than  all  this  would  be  a  betrayal  of  our  trust, 
an  insult  to  all  immortal  natures,  and  treason  against  the 
throne  of  Christ,  when  only  one  soul  was  concerned,  what 
must  be  the  guilt  of  less  than  entire  devotedness  when  the 
unconverted  are  so  many  that  they  are  crowded  in  cities, 
swarming  on  islands,  overflowing  continents,  teeming  every 
where  ?  If,  when  the  church  had  so  far  "  multiplied,  and 
replenished  the  earth,"  as  to  have  left  but  a  single  district 
unenlightened,  it  would  yet  be  bound,  if  necessary,  to  devote 
all  its  united  energies  to  the  recovery  of  that  solitary  region, 
where  could  we  find  language  strong  enough  to  describe  the 
inconsistency  of  that  region,  if  on  the  contrary  supposition 
that  it  alone  possessed  the  gospel,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  earth 
were  perishing,  it  yet  contented  itself  with  a  few  cheap  and 
easy  expressions  of  concern  for  their  salvation? 

But  though  this  supposition  partially  represents  our  actual 
position  and  conduct  in  relation  to  the  heathen  world,  our 
opportunities  of  saving  them  might  have  been  such  as  to 
render  the  attempt  all  but  hopeless.  We  might  have  been 
held  in  cruel  slavery,  unable  to  move  without  a  chain ;  or  the 
scattered  inhabitants  of  some  arctic  region,  comparatively  cut 
off  from  intercourse  with  the  rest  of  the  world;  or  imprisoned, 
for  every  missionary  purpose,  in  the  heart  of  a  vast  continent ; 
or  the  idolatrous  nations  generally  might  be  so  averse  to 
Christianity,  as  rigorously  to  inflict  death  on  any  of  its  agents, 
who  might  dare  to  approach  them.  And  yet,  if,  even  then, 
less  than  entire  devotedness  to  the  world's  salvation,  would 
have  been  the  highest  guilt,  by  what  plea  can  we  now  excuse 
ourselves  for  less,  when  the  world,  in  a  sense,  is  given  into 
our  hands?  We  might  have  been  originally  an  island  of 
barbarians,  the  prey  of  every  roving  pirate,  and  the  trembling 


TO   THE    MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE.  359 

victims  of  civilized  oppression.  And,  if  then  the  dayspring 
from  on  high  had  visited  us,  and  prepared  us  for  all  our  sub- 
sequent improvement  —  if,  as  our  ancient  oppressors  declined, 
and  were  recalled  from  the  stage  of  action,  we  gradually 
emerged,  and  rose  into  national  importance  —  if,  when  the  ark 
of  the  truth  was  in  danger,  we  were  honored  by  God  to  act 
as  its  defenders  —  if,  as  often  as  our  foes  combined  to  destroy 
us,  they  were  not  only  defeated,  but  doomed  to  the  mortifica- 
tion of  seeing  us  rise  to  greater  prominence  than  before  — 
if  a  name  and  a  character  became  ours  which  operated  uni- 
versally in  our  favor  as  a  moral  charm  —  if  our  commerce 
were  welcomed  in  almost  every  port — if  our  political  influ- 
ence were  felt  in  every  cabinet  —  if  surrounding  powers  were 
dispossessed  of  their  foreign  dependencies  that  we  might 
enjoy  them  —  and  if  other  vast  and  populous  regions  of  the 
earth  came  unexpectedly  into  our  possession,  till  a  consider- 
able portion  of  the  race  were  sitting  at  our  feet  —  should  we 
not  feel  that  each  stage  of  our  course  had  brought  with  it  an 
increase  of  responsibility,  till  our  position  had  become  one 
which  left  us  no  alternative,  but  that  of  entire  consecration  to 
its  duties  ?  But  who  does  not  know  that  this  is  far  below  the 
reality  of  our  history  ? 

What  was  our  political  condition  only  a  century  ago? 
The  great  powers  which  divided  the  empire  of  the  world  did 
not  reckon  us  among  them.  The  total  number  of  British 
subjects,  including  those  of  all  our  dependencies,  did  not 
exceed  13,000,000.  What  is  their  number  now?  Upwards 
of  152,000,000 ;  which  is  more  than  a  sixth  portion  of  the 
human  race ;  considerably  more  than  the  population  of  the 
ancient  Roman  empire;  nearly  double  that  of  the  nations 
now  subject  to  Mahometan  rulers  ;  and  greatly  exceeding  the 
number  of  those  who  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the 
Pope.  In  order  to  this,  we  have  been  permitted  to  succeed 
to  the  possessions  of  Holland  and  of  Portugal  in  India — to 
the  empire  of  the  Mahometan  sovereigns  of  India  —  to  the 
commercial  ascendency  of  the  Venetians  in  the  Levant  —  to 
a  political  and  moral  ascendency  more  nearly  approaching  to 
universal  empire  than  probably  any  other  nation  of  which  we 
read  in  the  pages  of  history.  But  why  ?  The  believer  in 
revelation  has  but  one  reply.  Why  was  each  of  the  great 
nations  of  antiquity  made  in  succession  the  leader  of  the 
world ;  why,  but  that  it  might  answer  some  specific  moral 
purpose,  corresponding  with  its  advantages  and  obligations  1 


360  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE    CONSECRATION 

But  failing  to  fulfil  its  high  vocation,  there  came  forth  the 
likeness  of  a  man's  hand,  and  wrote  the  doom  of  each,  and 
gave  its  power  to  another. 

"  When  do  you  expect  that  your  nation  will  recover  its 
power  in  India?  "  said  an  Englishman  to  a  Portuguese  priest 
of  Goa,  soon  after  the  power  of  Portugal  in  India  had  been 
overthrown.  The  priest  replied,  "  As  soon  as  the  wicked- 
ness of  your  nation  shall  exceed  that  of  ours."  We  hold 
India  by  the  imperative  condition,  that  we  subserve  the  de- 
signs of  Providence  respecting  it;  let  that  condition  be 
violated,  and  the  possession  ceases  with  the  infraction.  Our 
ascendency  and  advantages  are  so  many  talents  of  mighty 
worth  :  and  he  who  has  conferred  them  has  done  so  with 
deep  calculation,  and  for  a  special  end.  They  constitute 
Britain  the  centre  around  which  at  this  time  revolve  the 
hopes  and  destinies  of  man.  But  whatever  the  nation  is,  it 
is  for  the  church.  The  military  conquests  of  the  former 
have  been  permitted  only  for  the  peaceful  achievements  of 
the  latter.  Territorial  enlargements  and  political  influence 
have  been  given  us  only  to  prepare  the  way  and  create  a 
sphere  for  our  missionary  efforts.  But  who  can  measure  the 
largeness  of  that  sphere,  count  up  the  population  which  it 
contains,  and  remember  that  our  opportunity  for  giving  them 
the  gospel  is  only  for  an  appointed  time  —  without  feeling  that 
for  the  church  to  lose  a  moment,  or  to  neglect  an  effort,  for 
saving  them,  is  treachery  to  itself,  murderous  cruelty  to  them, 
and  trifling  with  God  ?  And  the  call  for  this  unremitting 
concern  becomes  more  urgent  from  the  fact  that,  as  a  nation, 
we  have  obtained  much  of  our  political  influence  over  them 
by  an  energy  of  application  to  our  object  in  which  treasures 
and  lives,  by  hundreds  and  thousands,  have  been  treated  as 
the  small  dust  of  the  balance.  Shall  less  energy  be  exhibited 
by  the  church  militant,  in  claiming  them  as  the  subjects  of 
Him  who  is  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords  ? 

And  still  further  is  this  demand  on  our  devotedness  in- 
creased by  the  fact  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  heathen 
of  whom  we  speak,  not  only  ascribe  our  mutual  position  to 
an  invisible  hand,  but  are  actually  ready  to  place  themselves 
as  disciples  at  our  feet.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  them  may 
be  said  to  be  standing  at  this  moment  on  the  threshold  of  the 
temple  of  idolatry,  ready  to  quit  it  forever.  Shall  we  call 
them  into  the  church  of  Christ,  or  shall  we  remand  them 
back  to  rekindle  the  fires  of  their  Moloch?    and  to  rebuild 


TO   THE    MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE.  361 

the  altars  of  their  demon  worship  t  Multitudes  of  them  are 
standing  at  the  gates  of  the  Christian  church  —  the  hand  of 
Providence  has  directed  them  there  —  they  bring  with  them 
signs  from  heaven  that  he  has  sent  them,  and  that  he  expects 
us  to  receive  and  instruct  them.  Are  we  ready  to  make  the 
sacrifices  which  the  occasion  requires  ?  At  all  events,  if  we 
will  persist  in  neglecting  them,  let  us  plainly  avow  the  reason. 
Before  we  finally  dismiss  them  to  destruction,  let  us,  by  pub- 
lic manifesto,  or  otherwise,  exculpate  Christianity,  and  blame 
the  only  guilty  cause  by  telling  them,  "  Your  conversion  to 
the  Christian  faith  is  an  object  of  the  highest  importance. 
To  effect  it  would  greatly  augment  our  heavenly  happiness, 
secure  infinite  blessedness  to  you,  and  bring  to  God  ever- 
lasting glory.  As  far  as  our  instrumentality  is  necessary,  the 
means  are  all  in  our  possession.  But  we  cannot  furnish 
them  without  abridging  our  self-indulgence ;  and  as  this 
requires  more  love  for  your  souls  and  regard  for  the  authority 
of  Christ  than  we  possess,  we  see  no  alternative  but  that  of 
leaving  you  to  perish."  Now,  startling  as  such  language  may 
seem,  by  what  other  terms  can  we  excuse  ourselves  from 
entire  devotedness  to  their  salvation  1 

V.  Some  have  exhibited  this  devotedness ;  and  here  is  an- 
other inducement  to  our  consecration.  For  though  our  obli- 
gation is  quite  independent  of  what  others  may  do,  yet  the 
fact,  that  some  have  entirely  surrendered  themselves  to  that 
obligation,  furnishes  us  with  an  additional  motive  to  do  like- 
wise, and  will  render  us  the  more  inexcusable  if  we  do  not. 
Are  we  asked  the  names  of  such  men,  and  who  they  were  1 
Ask  —  we  reply  —  ask  inspiration  the  names  of  the  men  who 
first  filled  the  world  with  the  news  of  salvation,  from  the 
burning  Paul  to  the  humblest  evangelist  of  his  day.  Ask 
Protestant  Christendom  the  names  of  her  reformers  and  con- 
fessors; and  she  will  tell  you  of  a  Wicliffe  and  a  Zuingle,  a 
Luther,  a  Melancthon,  and  a  Huss  —  men  of  whom  the  world 
was  not  worthy.  Ask  our  missionary  societies  the  names  of 
their  honored  founders  —  and  they  will  tell  you  of  men  who 
travelled,  pleaded,  wept,  while  the  world  around  them  slept. 
Ask  them  the  names  of  the  missionaries  they  most  delight  to 
honor,  and  they  will  give  you  a  long  list  of  worthies,  from  an 
Eliot  of  the  seventeenth  century,  penetrating  the  depths  of 
the  American  wilderness,  to  the  Moravian  heroes  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  braving  the  snows  of  Greenland,  down  to 
31 


3G2  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE   CONSECRATION 

the  man  of  "  Missionary  Enterprises,"  just  gone  to  explore 
the  Southern  Pacific  for  fresh  fields  of  gospel  triumph.*  And 
what  shall  we  more  say  ?  for  the  time  would  fail  us  to  tell  of 
a  Brainerd  and  a  Stach,  a  Swartz  and  a  Coke,  a  Martyn  and 
a  Morrison,  a  Carey  and  a  Marshman,  who  through  faith  sub- 
dued kingdoms  to  the  obedience  of  Christ,  turned  spears  into 
pruning-hooks,  civilized  savage  tribes,  smote  off  the  fetters 
of  the  slave  —  gave  the  Bible  to  the  nations  —  and  went  every 
where  claiming  those  nations  for  God.  Had  the  Grecian 
soldier  a  loftier  character  to  sustain  after  Thermopylae  and 
Marathon  ?  What  a  character  have  we  to  sustain  since  such 
men  trod  the  earth?  Yet  ask  them  the  secret  of  their  suc- 
cess ;  ask  them,  we  say  —  for  they  are  near  us  —  do  we  not 
feel  their  presence?  Are  we  not  sensible  of  a  great  cloud  of 
witnesses  ?  Ask  them  the  secret  of  their  success  —  and, 
while  they  point  to  Him  at  whose  feet  they  cast  their  crowns 
as  the  efficient  cause  —  they  will  tell  you,  that,  instrumentally, 
they  owe  it  to  the  singleness  of  their  aim,  the  unity  of  their 
purpose,  the  utter  devotedness  of  their  lives  to  their  great 
object.  And  yet  ardent,  devoted  as  they  were,  in  what  respect 
did  they  exceed  their  duty  ? 

Holy,  honored,  illustrious  men,  what  are  we  that  we  should 
be  admitted  to  your  glorious  fellowship !  Had  you  not  lived, 
we  should  have  applauded  deeds  which  now  we  must  pass 
unnamed  1  We  cannot  talk  of  what  we  give  in  your  pres- 
ence —  you  gave  yourselves.  We  cannot  boast  of  our  enthu- 
siasm in  your  hearing  —  your  zeal  consumed  you.  We  dare 
not  speak  of  our  sacrifices  before  you  —  you  would  remind 
us  that  the  world  has  had  but  one  sacrifice,  and  never  can 
have  another  —  and  yet  you  gave  your  lives,  your  all.  How 
have  you  raised  the  standard  of  Christian  action  !  What 
new  responsibilities  have  you  devolved  !  Never  can  we  vin- 
dicate our  title  as  your  successors,  nor  complete  what  you 
began,  but  by  binding  ourselves  up  with  it,  as  you  did,  for 
life  and  for  death. 

VI.  The  importance  of  a  devoted  church  will  appear,  if 
we  reflect  that  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  the  age  is 
that  of  change  and  transition,  and  that  only  such  a  church  is 
prepared  to  turn  this  peculiarity  to  the  proper,  the  highest 
account.     Never,  since  time  began,  was  the  human  mind  in 

*  Now  gone  to  his  reward,  as  the  "Martyr  of  Erromanga." 


TO   THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  363 

such  close,  quick,  constant,  sympathetic,  universal  commu- 
nication as  now.  And  consequently,  never  was  there  so  gen- 
eral and  thorough  an  awakening  of  mind  as  now.  Look 
where  we  will,  it  is  quivering  with  impulses,  thrilling  with 
excitement,  restless  for  change,  panting  for  a  good  which  it 
has  not.  This  state  of  things  has  been  brought  about,  partly 
by  Christian  activity;  entirely  for  that  activity.  The  world 
could  not  take  the  proper  advantage  of  it,  if  it  would,  for  it 
has  not  the  means ;  nor  would  it,  if  it  could,  for  it  has  not  the 
motives;  nor  might  it,  under  any  circumstances,  for  the 
great  changes  and  improvements  of  society  are  evidently 
reserved  by  God  to  be  effected  by  his  church.  Hence,  all  the 
great  and  beneficial  movements  of  the  day  —  the  liberation 
of  the  slave,  the  religious  education  of  the  young,  the 
advancement  of  civilization  —  have,  in  fact,  originated  with 
Christians ;  and  for  this  obvious  reason,  that  the  glory  might 
be  exclusively  his  own.  But  for  the  same  reason  that  these 
great  movements  have  not  originated  with  a  worldly  philoso- 
phy, the  greater  and  more  spiritual  changes  yet  to  take  place 
will  not  originate  with  a  worldly  church.  We  want  one  of 
the  primary  means,  which  is  visible  union.  And  this  makes 
it  evident  —  evident  to  the  world  —  that  we  want  one  of  the 
primary  motives  —  that  zeal  for  Christ,  and  love  for  souls, 
which  would  impel  us  to  unite.  And  hence  it  is  obvious  that, 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  we  must  be  wanting  in  weight  of 
character.  For,  in  order  to  obtain  the  direction  of  public 
opinion  at  home,  and  to  take  advantage  of  changes  abroad, 
we  must  be  in  advance  of  the  world ;  in  advance  of  its  intel- 
ligence in  every  thing  relating  to  human  welfare;  in  advance 
of  its  benevolent  activity;  but,  above  all,  in  immeasurable 
advance  of  its  character.  Rather,  we  should  have  said,  we 
must  have  a  character  of  our  own  to  which  the  world  would 
never  venture  to  make  a  pretension ;  a  character  for  disin- 
terestedness, liberality,  self-denial,  and  united  supplications 
to  God  ;  a  character  for  being  always  ready  —  ready  with 
our  plans,  and  ready  with  our  means,  for  seizing  every  open- 
ing of  usefulness;  a  character  for  denying  ourselves  that 
we  might  be  thus  ready,  and  yet  not  being  sensible  that  we 
denied  ourselves  at  all ;  a  character  for  living  only  for  one 
object  —  to  establish  the  reign  of  Christ  upon  earth.  Such 
a  character,  indeed,  the  world  might  not  admire,  but  could 
not  resist. 

But  is  this  our  character  ?     Are  we  thus  ready  ?     Are  not 


364  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE   CONSECRATION 

a  thousand  doors  of  usefulness  standing  open  at  this  moment, 
in  India  alone,  which  we  are  not  prepared  to  enter  ?  Are  we 
not  distracted  between  the  scantiness  of  our  present  available 
resources,  and  the  number  and  diversity  of  the  demands 
made  on  thern?  Yet  the  world  knows  full  well,  and  we 
know  too,  that,  were  we  truly  in  earnest,  we  could  multiply 
these  resources  a  thousand  fold.  The  world  knows,  and  we 
know  too,  that  the  tax  paid  by  the  country  on  a  single  article 
of  luxury  exceeds  all  that  Christians  contribute  to  religious 
objects ;  and  that,  of  that  tax  on  self-indulgence,  Christians 
pay  a  large  proportion,  despite  the  cries  of  a  perishing  world. 
Now,  what  is  all  this  but  a  want  of  character ;  a  want  of 
weight  with  the  world ;  a  want  of  readiness  to  take  the  direc- 
tion of  its  movements ;  a  want  of  htness  to  be  honored  and 
employed  by  God  in  that  capacity  ;  a  want  of  that  which 
nothing  else  could  supply,  but  which  itself  could  supply  the 
want  of  every  thing  else  ;  for  a  Christian  church  thoroughly 
imbued  with  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  and  devoted  to  the  great 
object  of  its  existence,  would  find  in  its  character  an  amount 
of  wealth,  influence,  and  moral  power,  to  which  the  world 
would  render  involuntary  homage,  and  which  God  would 
crown  with  distinguished  success. 

VII.  Connected  with  this  view  is  another  consideration. 
If  the  present  be  an  age  of  transition  and  change,  it  is,  on 
that  very  account,  the  commencement  of  a  new  era;  on  us  it 

devolves  to  give  the  first  impulse  to  that  era;  but  that  first 
impulse  is  likely  to  impart  more  or  less  of  its  own  character 
to  the  whole  era  of  which  it  is  the  commencement  —  likely  to 
propagate  its  influence  on  to  the  end  of  time  :  how  unspeakably 
important,  then,  that  the  impulse  should  be  of  the  most  holy, 
ardent,  and  scriptural  kind  !  in  a  word,  that  it  should  be  given 
by  men  living  to  Christ  ! 

It  is  the  undying,  self-propagating  nature  of  our  moral 
influence,  which  invests  every  thing  we  do  with  so  much  im- 
portance ;  its  immediate  effect  may  be  trivial,  but  who  shall 
calculate  consequences  never  ending,  ever  expanding  ? 
Christian  parents,  the  scale  on  which  you  give  is  likely  to 
affect  the  liberality  of  your  children's  children  to  the  remo- 
test generation.  Christians,  you  are  living  for  futurity.  The 
character  you  impress  on  the  age  is  not  to  die  with  you  —  it 
is  the  legacy  you  will  bequeath  to  posterity.  The  influence 
you  are  now  putting  into  circulation  is  not  to  be  limited  to 


TO   THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  365 

the  present ;  it  will  reach  to  those  you  never  saw,  and  descend 
to  other  times.  Churches  of  Christ,  reflect ;  traces  of  your 
character  will  reappear  ages  hence,  in  the  churches  of 
India  and  Africa,  China  and  Japan  —  of  shores  yet  undis- 
covered, and  nations  yet  unformed.  You  are  giving  Chris- 
tianity to  posterity :  what  kind  of  a  Christianity  are  you  giv- 
ing it  ?  A  languid,  feeble,  spiritless  thing,  or  a  system  instinct 
with  life  ?  Shall  it  go  forth  to  the  world,  and  down  to  the 
future,  covered  with  the  honors  and  repeating  the  achieve- 
ments of  its  first  days  ?  Or  a  half-hearted,  torpid,  self-indul- 
ging system,  living  on  the  world's  sufferance,  and  struggling 
on  for  a  bare  existence?  Remote  generations  summon  us  to 
duty,  and  adjure  us,  by  the  responsibility  of  our  present 
position  —  by  the  bright  hopes  we  cherish  of  millennial  bliss 
—  and  by  the  certainty  that  the  impulses  we  are  now  giving  to 
religion  will  impart  a  character  to  that  bliss — a  lustre  or  a 
shade  —  that  we  give  them  the  Christianity  of  apostolic  times, 
fresh  from  the  cross,  and  glowing  with  the  fire  of  a  Paul. 

VIII.  But  from  all  this  it  follows  that  nothing  done  for 
Christ  is  lost;  and  that  as  the  whole,  with  all  its  immediate 
and  remote  results,  will  eventually  form  a  subject  of  interest- 
ing retrospection,  it  supplies  us  with  a  powerful  motive  to 
present  devotedness.  We  mean  not  to  intimate  that  the  cost- 
liest service  we  can  render  has  any  inherent  worth,  or  any  in- 
dependent influence,  to  produce  the  smallest  spiritual  results. 
But  we  do  mean  to  say,  that  nothing  scripturally  done  for 
Christ  is  lost ;  that  of  every  such  act  he  graciously  takes  the 
charge  —  appoints  it  a  place  in  his  system  of  means  —  and 
causes  it  to  move  in  a  line  parallel  with  the  great  laws  of  his 
government. 

Say,  what  of  all  the  past  is  lost?  The  mites  of  the  widow? 
True,  the  gift  in  itself  was  small,  the  act  trivial ;  but  she  has, 
in  high  moral  effect,  been  giving  them  daily,  ever  since.  They 
have  multiplied  into  millions.  Those  mites  have  formed  an 
inexhaustible  fund,  and  to  the  end  of  time  will  constitute 
for  the  church  an  ever-augmenting  treasury  of  wealth. 
What  is  lost?  The  labors  of  those  who  first  took  the  mission 
field,  and  who  have  already  fallen?  True,  they  failed  in 
some  of  their  immediate  ends,  and  fell  comparatively  unwept. 
But,  holy,  honored  men,  your  day  of  moral  power  is  yet  to 
come.  Already  your  names  are  our  titles ;  your  memory  is 
our  inspiration ;  your  noble  deeds  are  our  heraldry ;  your  ex- 
31* 


366  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE   COx\SECRATION 

ample,  a  precious  part  of  our  inheritance.  By  the  perusal  of 
your  tale  shall  many  a  youthful  bosom  swell  with  the  sacred 
ambition  of  living  to  Christ  in  heathen  lands;  and,  as  he 
hears  your  name  pronounced  with  benedictions,  or  touches 
the  soil  which  contains  your  hallowed  dust,  or  opens  the 
sacred  page  which  you  first  laboriously  unlocked  to  wander- 
ing eyes  —  your  memory  shall  fire  his  zeal,  and  in  his  labors 
shall  you  live  again.  What  is  lost  ?  The  blood  of  the  martyrs  ? 
True,  they  fell.  The  car  of  the  demon  to  which  they  were 
sacrificed,  rolled  over  them  and  on  ;  "  their  ashes  flew,  no 
marble  tells  us  whither ;  "  the  voices  which  bewailed  them 
sank  into  silence ;  the  tyranny  which  crushed  them  waxed 
stronger  and  stronger  ;  and  age  followed  age  apparently  only 
to  blacken  their  names,  or  to  proclaim  that  they  had  lived 
and  died  in  vain.  But  did  they  1  Let  the  history  of  truth 
struggling  with  error  ever  since  testify.  Never  have  their  suf- 
ferings ceased  to  thrill  the  general  heart.  Long  have  some  of 
their  softest  whispers  at  the  stake  been  oracles  to  support  the 
suffering,  and  watchwords  to  animate  the  valiant  for  the  truth. 

And  such  shall  be  your  honored  destiny,  martyrs  of  Mada- 
gascar !  Precious  were  your  deaths  in  the  eyes  of  your 
Lord.  Precious  in  our  eyes  is  every  drop  of  your  blood. 
And  the  time  shall  come  when  precious  shall  be  the  spot 
where  you  were  speared  in  the  eyes  of  your  own  people. 
At  present  they  deem  you  vanquished.  But  they  never  fail 
who  die  for  Christ.  That  land  belongs  to  him.  And,  when 
he  assumes  his  right,  your  wounds  shall  plead  for  him ;  the 
spear  that  pierced  you  shall  blossom  and  bud;  your  martyr- 
dom, subservient  to  a  higher  influence,  shall  give  a  resistless 
impulse  to  the  cause  of  truth. 

That  time  will  come ;  the  time  when  Christ  will  have 
taken,  not  that  island  only,  but  the  earth  for  his  possession. 
The  price  has  been  paid  —  the  transfer  made  —  the  time  for 
actual  possession  appointed  —  the  approach  of  that  time  di- 
vinely indicated.  Let  us. imagine  that  future  period  to  have 
come.  There  is  Christendom  purged  of  its  corruptions ; 
India  without  its  caste ;  China  without  its  wall  of  selfishness ; 
Africa  without  its  chains ;  earth  without  its  curse.  All  its 
kingdoms,  consolidated  into  one  vast  spiritual  empire,  are  hap- 
py in  the  reign  of  Christ,  and  prostrate  at  his  feet.  And  will 
it  form  no  part  of  the  employment  of  that  blessed  time,  to 
trace  back  that  grand  consummation  to  all  the  trains  of  in- 
strumentality which  led  to  it  ?     It  will,  doubtless,  form  a  part 


TO   THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  367 

of  the  occupation  of  heaven  itself.  And  in  the  prosecution 
of  that  inquiry,  will  there  be  one  period  whose  annals  shall 
be  referred  to  with  surpassing  interest  ?  One,  from  which 
that  great  ocean  of  results  will  be  found  to  have  derived 
many  of  its  most  important  springs  and  streams  of  Christian 
influence  ?  That  period  will  doubtless  prove  our  own.  And 
will  not  he  be  among  the  happiest  Christians  then  who  per- 
ceives that,  by  embarking  his  all  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  he 
has  an  ample  revenue  of  glory  to  lay  at  his  Savior's  feet? 

Young  men,  remember  this.  The  morning  of  your  life,  and 
the  morning  of  a  glorious  day,  are  dawning  together.  Would 
you  inscribe  your  names  on  a  page  which  shall  be  read  with 
interest  by  a  renovated  world  ?  In  the  great  audit,  would  you 
stand  for  more  than  a  unit  ?  Then  must  you  spring  to  action 
at  once.  Delay  awhile  —  and,  go  where  you  will,  no  country 
will  be  left  for  you  to  be  theirs*  to  claim  for  Christ ;  no  lan- 
guage remain  for  you  to  consecrate  by  first  pronouncing  in 
it  the  name  of  Christ;  no  single  tribe  to  whom  you  can 
present  theirs*  Bible  !  Happy  deprivation  !  and  is  nothing 
left  —  no  lofty  mark  for  Christian  ambition  to  aim  at?  Yes, 
the  church  has  left  you  one,  at  least  —  and  that  the  loftiest  of 
all.  There  is  yet  left  to  you  the  high  distinction  of  not  living 
to  yourselves.  Aim  at,  and  exhibit  that  distinction;  and,  at 
the  period  of  retrospection  of  which  we  speak,  it  shall  be 
found  that  if  others  began  an  era  of  activity,  it  was  yours  to 
eclipse  them  by  commencing  an  era  of  devotedness. 

IX.  But  we  ascend  to  higher  reasons  still.  All  things 
belong  to  Christ  by  original,  mediatorial  right,  and  were 
constructed  by  him  expressly  with  a  view  to  subserve  his 
mediatorial  plan.  "  All  things  were  created  by  him,  and  for 
him."  "  He  is  both  the  First  and  the  Last,"  the  efficient 
and  the  final  cause  of  all  things.  The  creation  of  the  uni- 
verse is  not  to  be  regarded  as  an  act  terminating  in  itself; 
or  as  performed  merely  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  as  much 
of  the  divine  glory  as,  taken  by  itself,  it  was  calculated  to 
display.  Nor  is  the  mediatorial  office  of  Christ  to  be  regarded 
as  an  afterthought  —  a  supplementary  appointment  in  con- 
sequence of  the  unexpected  derangement  and  failure  of  a 
previous  design.  The  constitution  of  a  Mediator  is  to  be 
viewed  as  having  been  the  primary  step  toward  the  creation 
of  the  universe.  Nor  is  the  introduction  of  sin  to  be  regarded 
as  having  been  originated  or  necessitated  by  this  original 


368  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE   CONSECRATION 

arrangement.  On  the  contrary,  it  implies  that  the  evil  hav- 
ing been  infallibly  foreseen,  the  entire  plan  of  the  divine 
procedure  was  laid  with  a  view  to  an  adequate  remedy. 
Creation  itself,  therefore,  was  a  mediatorial  act;  and  every 
thing  made  was  expressly  intended  to  answer  to  the  great 
remedial  design,  and  was  so  made  as  to  be  best  adapted  for 
the  purpose. 

It  follows,  then,  that  no  part  of  creation  answers  its  high- 
est end  until  it  becomes  subservient  to  the  designs  of  Christ. 
Numerous  other  ends  it  may  answer ;  many  of  them  may  be 
important  ends ;  and  all  of  them  may  be  allowable ;  but  fail- 
ing of  subserviency  to  the  mediatorial  government  of  Christ, 
it  fails  of  the  chief  end  for  which  it  was  brought  into  exist- 
ence. It  was  not  till  the  earth  echoed  the  first  promise,  and 
became  a  theatre  for  unfolding  the  scheme  of  mercy  which 
that  promise  enclosed,  that  it  was  promoted  to  the  grand 
office  of  its  creation.  It  was  not  till  the  objects  and  elements 
of  nature  became  recognized  images  and  emblems  of  that 
great  scheme,  that  the  true  reason  of  their  existence  and  par- 
ticular construction  was  made  known.  The  offices  of  prophet, 
priest,  and  king,  —  of  father,  husband,  and  friend,  found  not 
their  true  distinction  till  they  became  known  types  of  the 
mediatorial  relations  of  Christ.  Till  Christ  assumed  our 
nature,  the  great  reason  for  the  existence  of  humanity  itself 
remained  undeveloped  ;  and  until  he  died,  the  temple  of  the 
universe  may  be  said  to  have  been  destitute,  except  in  the 
divine  intention,  of  altar,  sacrifice,  and  priest.  The  cross 
was  the  true  centre  of  the  world  made  visible.  And  here- 
after it  will  be  clearly  seen  that  all  nations,  objects,  and 
events,  answered  their  real  design  only  as  they  revolved  in 
subordination  around  it;  that  it  never  moved,  but  all  things 
were  meant  to  fall  into  its  train  ;  never  stood,  but  all  things 
were  called  to  bow  down  before  it;  never  spoke,  but  they 
were  all  expected  to  echo  its  voice.  It  will,  as  we  have 
shown,  be  distinctly  seen,  that  wealth  attained  its  true  desti- 
nation only  when  it  fell  into  the  treasury  of  Christ;  that 
speech  realized  its  grand  design  only  when  it  became  "  a 
means  of  grace ; "  that  all  the  relationships  of  life,  and  all 
the  mutual  influences  with  which  those  relationships  invest 
us,  found  their  proper  end  only  when  they  harmonized  with 
the  central  influence  streaming  from  the  cross. 

But  what  powerful  motives  does  this  view  of  the   media- 
torial lordship  of  Christ  supply  to  our  entire  consecration  to 


TO   THE   MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE.  369 

his  service  !  For  until  the  great  design  of  the  office  be  ful- 
filled in  the  spiritual  recovery  of  the  world,  the  unnecessary 
diversion  of  a  single  particle  of  influence  from  his  cause  is 
an  act  of  rebellion  against  his  authority.  Had  such  a  diver- 
sion been  the  first  and  solitary  instance  of  the  kind  ever 
known,  it  could  not  have  occurred  without  exciting  a  burst 
of  loyal  indignation  from  every  part  of  the  divine  dominions. 
How  much  greater  the  guilt,  then,  of  such  an  alienation  now, 
when  the  rebellion  is  so  general  that  nearly  "  all  things  "  on 
earth,  "  created  by  him  and  for  him,"  are  turned  and  pointed 
against  him  !  Had  an  angel  been  sent  down  to  stand  between 
us  and  every  such  act,  it  should  not  have  deterred  us  so  pow- 
erfully as  this  consideration.  Wherever  we  look,  we  may 
rest  assured  that  his  eye  is  resting  at  the  same  moment  on  all 
within  the  circle,  with  a  look  of  sovereign  and  jealous  appro- 
priation. On  whatever  we  may  lay  our  hand,  his  hand  has 
been  there  before  us,  and  left  a  sign  which  marks  it  entirely 
for  his  own.  Wherever  we  may  go  —  into  the  bosom  of  the 
family,  the  place  of  business,  the  seat  of  power  and  na- 
tional government  —  he  is  there  before  us  to  assert  his  origi- 
nal claim,  and  to  impress  on  every  thing  the  solemn  sentence, 
"  by  me,  and  for  me." 

Little,  indeed,  do  the  rulers  of  the  earth  think  of  any 
higher  end  than  that  of  national  prosperity  and  aggrandize- 
ment ;  and  matter  of  high  scorn  would  it  be  to  them,  to  be 
told  that,  in  the  true  system  of  things,  they  come  after  the 
Christian  missionary,  and  are  appointed  to  minister  in  his 
train.  Little  do  the  men  of  science,  commerce,  and  power, 
concern  themselves  to  inquire  why  "  the  sea  and  the  dry 
land  "  were  originally  distributed  into  their  present  geograph- 
ical form ;  why  an  insignificant  island  should  hold  distant  and 
populous  nations-  in  dependency ;  and  why  tides  and  oceans 
roll  between.  They  need  to  be  reminded,  however,  that  in 
the  government  of  Christ  there  is  a  reason  for  all  this,  and 
that  that  reason  is  worthy  of  him  for  whom  the  whole  exists ; 
that  it  is  something  higher  and  greater  than  that  of  merely 
supplying  their  tables  with  luxuries,  or  even  their  coffers  with 
funds.  They  are  to  be  told  that,  could  they  be  taken  to  the 
summit  of  that  lofty  reason,  they  would  be  able  to  command 
a  view  of  both  eternities;  that  on  looking  down  upon  the 
movements  of  time,  in  vain  would  they  look  for  the  signs  of 
their  own  existence,  unless  they  are  living  for  Christ ;  that, 
from  that  height,  the  light  of  heaven  falls  on  nothing   which 


370  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE   CONSECRATION 

is  not  directly  or  indirectly  advancing  his  great  design ;  that 
it  is  reflected  from  the  path  of  the  Christian  preacher  with  a 
strength  which  throws  the  track  of  an  army  into  the  shade, 
and  from  the  vessel  conveying  a  herald  of  salvation  to  some 
heathen  shore  with  a  lustre  which  leaves  a  warlike  navy 
involved  in  midnight  darkness. 

But  if  all  things  are  for  him,  why  are  they  not  with  him? 
Why  will  they  not  find  the  perfection  of  their  nature,  and  the 
reason  of  their  existence,  in  his  service?  It  is  not  that  they 
are  not  needed.  So  vast  and  full  of  grace  is  the  design  of 
the  mediatorial  economy,  that  it  wants  them  all  —  has  work 
for  them  all.  It  cannot  do  without  them  —  consistently,  that 
is,  with  existing  appointments  —  it  cannot  do  without  them. 
They  are  the  only  instruments  which  it  chooses  to  work  with. 
It  seeks  to  enlist  into  its  service  all  the  relations  which  bind 
us  together,  and  all  the  natural  means  by  which  we  influence 
each  other.  It  claims  the  infant  heart,  by  looking  at  it 
through  the  eyes,  and  caressing  it  in  the  tones  of  maternal 
love.  The  father's  authority  —  the  sister's  entreaty  —  the 
brother's  warning — the  servant's  fidelity  —  the  tradesman's 
integrity  and  weight  of  character  —  the  persuasions  of  friend- 
ship —  the  active  attention  of  neighborly  kindness  —  the 
disinterested  benevolence  of  public  life  —  the  powerful  influ- 
ence of  righteous  government  —  it  wants  them  all,  has  work 
for  them  all.  And  even  if  it  had  them,  the  kindest  tones 
cannot  equal  the  tenderness  of  its  entreaties;  the  hottest 
tears  cannot  express  its  anguish  over  human  misery ;  the 
most  throbbing  heart  cannot  beat  quick  enough  to  satisfy  its 
eager  longing  for  human  salvation ;  all  the  influence  which 
collective  man  could  wield  in  its  behalf,  could  not  do  justice 
to  its  free,  and  full,  and  gushing  benevolence  —  could  not 
furnish  channels  wide  and  deep  enough  to  pour  forth  the 
ocean  fulness  of  its  grace. 

X.  But  the  great  gospel  argument  for  such  consecration 
is  one  superinduced  on  that  of  the  original  right  of  Christ, 
and  is  known  and  felt  by  the  Christian  alone  —  the  claim  of 
redemption.  "  What !  know  ye  not  that  ye  are  not  your 
own  ?  for  ye  are  bought  with  a  price  !  "  The  fact  that  Christ 
is  our  Creator  and  Proprietor,  gives  him,  as  we  have  seen,  a 
right  in  us  which  nothing  can  ever  alienate ;  but  on  this  right, 
original  and  unalienable  as  it  is,  he  does  not  often  insist. 
The  fact  that  we  have  ever  been  cared  for  by  his  providence, 


TO   THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  371 

that  we  have  never  been  out  of  the  arms  of  infinite  tender- 
ness, gives  hirn  a  claim  on  us  which  nothing  can  ever  cancel ; 
but  on  this  claim,  strong  and  subduing  as  it  is,  he  does  not 
ordinarily  insist.  He  has  a  claim  more  powerful  and  affect- 
ing still  —  the  fact  that  he  has  bought  us  —  bought  us  with 
a  price !  He  comparatively  waives  every  other  ground  of 
claim,  and  trusts  to  this  alone.  He  knows  that  all  other 
claims  are  included  in  it  or  connected  with  it ;  that  this  may 
be  felt  after  the  heart  has  become  insensible  to  every  other 
claim ;  that  it  is  the  last  and  strongest  plea  which  Infinite 
Love  itself  can  employ. 

And  what  a  claim  it  is  —  the  claim  of  redemption ! 
Alas,  that  our  familiarity  with  it  should  ever  diminish  its 
freshness  and  force ;  that  we  do  not  always  feel  as  if  the 
price  had  only  just  been  paid  —  the  mystery  of  the  cross  just 
transpired  !  To  think  that  there  should  have  been  a  period 
in  our  history  when  we  were  lost ;  lost  to  ourselves  —  all  our 
capacity  for  enjoyment  being  turned  by  sin  into  a  felt  capaci- 
ty for  suffering ;  lost  to  the  design  of  our  creation  —  all  our 
powers  of  serving  Christ  being  perverted  into  instruments 
of  hostility  against  him ;  lost  to  the  society  of  heaven  —  the 
place  which  awaited  us  there  to  remain  eternally  vacant ;  the 
part  we  should  have  taken  in  the  chorus  of  the  blessed  to 
remain  forever  unfilled ;  heaven  itself,  as  far  as  in  us  lay, 
turned  into  a  place  of  mourning  and  desolation  ;  lost  to  God 
—  to  the  right  of  beholding,  approaching,  and  adoring  the 
vision  of  his  eternal  glory !  To  think  that,  in  point  of  law, 
we  were  thus  lost  as  truly  as  if  the  hand  of  justice  had 
seized  us,  had  led  us  down  to  our  place  in  woe,  drawn  on  us 
the  bolts  of  the  dreadful  prison,  and  as  if  years  of  wretched- 
ness and  ages  of  darkness  had  rolled  over  us  there.  Well 
may  we  ask  ourselves,  again  and  again,  How  is  it  we  are  here  ? 
here  in  the  blessed  light  of  day?  here,  in  the  still  more 
blessed  light  of  God's  countenance  ?  here,  like  children  sit- 
ting in  their  father's  smiles?  Why  is  this,  and  how  has  it 
come  to  pass?  Has  justice  relaxed  its  demands?  or  have 
the  penal  flames  become  extinct  ?  What,  know  ye  not  that 
ye  are  bought  with  a  price?  It  is  the  theme  of  the  universe. 
Look  on  that  glorious  being  descending  from  heaven  in  the 
form  of  God ;  know  ye  not  "  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  "  —  that  he  sought  no  resting-place  between  his  throne 
and  the  cross?  Behold  that  cross;  know  ye  not  that  "he 
loved  us  and  gave  himself  for  us?"  that  "he  bare  our  sins 


372  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE   CONSECRATION 

in  his  own  body  on  the  tree  "  ?  Approach  nearer,  and  look 
on  that  streaming  blood ;  know  ye  not  "  the  precious  blood 
of  Christ,"  and  that  that  blood  is  the  price  of  your  redemp- 
tion ?  Hear  you  not  the  voice  from  heaven  which  now  says, 
"  Deliver  them  from  going  down  to  the  pit,  for  I  have  found 
a  ransom  "  ?  Feel  you  not  the  Spirit  of  God  drawing  you, 
with  gentle  solicitations  and  gracious  importunities,  to  the 
feet  of  Christ?  See  you  not  that  he  who  was  delivered  for 
your  offences,  hath  been  raised  again  for  your  justification, 
and  is  now  waiting  to  receive  the  homage  of  your  love  ? 
How  much  owest  thou  unto  thy  Lord  ?  Try  to  compute  it. 
He  asks  only  his  due.  So  that  if  there  be  any  part  of  your 
nature  which  he  has  not  redeemed,  or  any  thing  in  your  pos- 
session for  which  you  are  not  indebted  to  him,  keep  it  back, 
and  apply  it  to  some  other  purpose.  But  does  not  the  bare 
suggestion  do  violence  to  your  new  nature  ?  does  not  every 
part  of  that  nature  resent  the  very  idea,  and  find  a  voice  to 
exclaim,  "  O  Lord,  I  am  thy  servant,  I  am  thy  servant,  thou 
hast  loosed  my  bonds  "  ? 

And  while  standing  in  the  presence  of  this  matchless  dis- 
play of  grace,  and  subdued  by  its  influence,  does  the  eager 
inquiry  spring  to  your  lips,  "Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me 
to  do?  "  Do  ?  what  can  you  do  but  make  known  that  grace 
to  others ;  what  can  you  do  but  let  the  stream  of  gratitude, 
which  his  great  love  has  drawn  from  your  heart,  pour  itself 
forth  into  that  channel  in  which  a  tide  of  mercy  is  rolling 
through  the  world,  and  bearing  blessings  to  the  nations  \ 
What  did  the  apostles  do  under  similar  circumstances?  So 
powerfully  were  they  constrained  by  the  love  of  Christ,  that 
they  thus  judged  that,  instead  of  living  as  if  they  were  under 
little  or  no  obligations  to  him,  they  should  henceforth  act  as 
if  the  duty  of  living  to  him  were  the  only  obligation  they 
were  under ;  and  that  the  best  way  cf  doing  that  would  be 
by  conveying  the  knowledge  of  his  redemption  to  others, 
and  thus  working  out  the  grand  purposes  of  his  atoning  death. 
What  can  you  do  but  let  your  love  to  Christ  take  the  same 
form  as  his  love  to  you  ?  and  what  was  that  but  compassion 
for  the  guilty,  and  active,  devoted,  unsparing  efforts  to  save 
the  perishing  ?  He,  indeed,  could  save,  and  did  save,  in  a  way 
in  which  he  can  never  be  copied ;  but  so  much  the  greater 
our  obligation  to  imitate  him  where  imitation  is  possible  ; 
especially,  too,  as  the  only  walk  of  benevolence  which  his  all- 
performing  compassion  has  left  open  to  us,  is  that  which  leads 


TO   THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  373 

from  his  cross  to  the  sinner ;   and  the  only  labor  left  us,  that 
of  endeavoring  to  draw  all  men  unto  him. 

XI.  And  this  reminds  us  that  not  only  are  we  his  by  origi- 
nal right,  and  his  by  redemption,  but  that  the  great  object  for 
which,  relatively,  he  has  brought  us  under  such  obligations, 
and  for  which  he  has,  in  addition,  formed  us  into  a  church,  is, 
that  he  might  engage  and  engross  our  instrumentality  for  the 
salvation  of  others.  If  "  he  gave  himself  for  us,"  it  was 
"  that  he  migRt  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people  zealous 
of  good  works."  If  we  are  "  created  in  Christ  Jesus,"  we 
are  created  "  unto  good  works."  "  What !  know  ye  not  that 
your  body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  in  you, 
which  ye  have  of  God,  and  ye  are  not  your  own?  for  ye  are 
bought  with  a  price ;  therefore  glorify  God  in  your  body  and 
in  your  spirit,  which  are  his."  What !  can  you  have  allowed 
an  analogy  so  obvious  as  that  which  exists  between  a  temple 
and  a  believer,  to  escape  your  notice  ?  Angels  mark  it ;  and 
that  is  one  reason  why  they  rejoice  over  the  sinner  when  he 
repents ;  they  know  that  God  is  consecrating  another  living 
temple,  is  advancing  another  step  towards  the  completion  of 
that  universal  temple  destined  to  resound  through  eternity 
with  the  echoes  of  his  praise.  God  himself  designs  it ;  de- 
signs that  the  consecrated  character  of  the  temple  on  Zion 
shall  be  copied  and  repeated  in  the  devoted  character  of 
every  living  temple. 

If,  then,  we  would  see  the  pattern  of  our  Christian  devoted- 
ness,  let  us  go,  in  imagination,  and  survey  the  temple  and  its 
service.  Are  we  not  conscious  of  a  holy  awe  stealing  over  our 
minds  as  we  approach  it?  Such  should  be  the  feeling  which 
the  presence  of  the  Christian  inspires  —  that  he  is  a  man  set 
apart  for  God.  Let  us  enter  the  sacred  precincts,  cross  the 
threshold,  and  look  around  ;  all  its  priests  are  the  anointed 
servants  of  God  —  all  its  vessels  holiness  to  the  Lord  —  all 
its  parts  sprinkled  with  blood.  Can  we  imagine  any  thing 
which  we  see  in  it,  taken  and  applied  to  any  other  than  tem- 
ple purposes,  without  a  sense  of  profanation  ?  that  priest, 
for  instance,  just  offering  the  victim,  polluted  with  licentious- 
ness? that  sacred  vessel,  taken  away  and  turned  into  a  cup 
of  intemperance  ?  that  altar,  transferred  for  a  time  to  the 
temple  of  Moloch  ?  or  the  temple  itself,  lent,  during  the  inter- 
val of  God's  worship,  to  celebrate  the  orgies  of  some  idol 
God  ?  The  very  thought  seems  profanation,  blasphemy  !  and 
32 


374  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE   CONSECRATION 

why,  but  because  we  feel  that  the  place  is  sacred  to  God 
throughout,  and  should  be  entirely  and  exclusively  devoted  to 
his  service  ?  Well,  know  ye  not  that  the  Christian  is  now  the 
temple  of  God  ?  and  that  he  has  claims  on  our  devotedness 
which  he  could  never  have  on  a  material  temple  —  the  claim 
that  every  thing  we  are  and  have  belongs  by  purchase  to  the 
God  of  the  temple?  and  that,  by  voluntarily  and  cordially 
devoting  the  whole  to  him,  he  counts  himself  glorified  ? 
"  Thou  that  abhorrest  idols,  dost  thou  commit  sacrilege  ? " 

And  not  only  every  individual  believer,  but  every  particular 
church,  is  a  living  temple.  Its  members,  "  as  living  stones, 
are  built  up  a  spiritual  house,  a  holy  priesthood,  to  offer  up 
spiritual  sacrifices,  acceptable  to  God  by  Jesus  Christ."  And 
may  we  not  suppose,  must  we  not  believe,  that,  as  often  as  we 
meet  in  this  capacity,  the  Lord  of  the  temple  himself  comes 
amongst  us?  Must  we  not  conclude,  that  as  he  walks  in  the 
midst  of  the  churches,  marking  the  character  of  their  ser- 
vices and  the  degree  of  their  devotedness,  his  eyes  are  as  a 
flame  of  fire?  Is  the  particular  church,  then,  to  which  we 
belong  prepared  for  the  searching  inspection  ?  Does  he  find 
our  knowledge  of  his  salvation — the  first  Christian  talent 
with  which  he  intrusts  us  —  kept,  like  a  vessel  of  the  sanctu- 
ary, bright  and  burnished,  by  constant  use?  Our  speech  — 
do  "  the  lips  of  the  priest  keep  knowledge,"  and  the  people 
"order  their  conversation  aright"?  Are  our  tongues  like 
living  censers  for  offering  up  the  incense  of  praise  ?  The 
influence  arising  from  our  relationship  —  are  we  employing 
it  as  a  golden  cord  for  drawing  others  with  us  into  the  divine 
presence  ?  Does  he  find  none  of  his  property  abstracted  from 
the  treasury,  and  lavished  on  worldly  objects?  or  is  it  all  ready 
to  meet  his  claims  ?  Is  self-denial  among  us,  bearing  its 
cross,  and  presenting  its  precious  oblations  ?  And  Christian 
activity  and  zeal,  flaming  like  an  altar  of  sacrifice,  and  ready  to 
say,  "  The  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  consumed  me "  ?  and 
prayer,  interceding  for  the  world ;  wrestling  with  God  for  a 
universal  blessing?  Souls  are  perishing — souls  have  been 
perishing  during  the  whole  time  of  our  connection  with  the 
church,  and  that  church  has  been  appointed  instrumentally  to 
save  them ;  amidst  the  wide-wasting  ruin  of  immortal  spirits 
perpetally  going  on  around  us,  have  we,  by  prayers,  by  entrea- 
ties, by  the  Spirit  of  God,  saved  one  ?  We  stand  related  to 
the  whole  church  —  to  the  entire  world  —  and  the  present  is 
a  time  in  which  that  relation  is  daily  becoming  more  visible, 


TO   THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  375 

and  entailing  increased  responsibility.  Louder  voices,  and 
loftier  claims,  are  summoning  us  to  action,  than  any  which 
the  churches  of  former  times  have  ever  heard.  Do  we  mark 
the  divine  indications  in  this  respect,  and  sympathize  with 
the  cries  of  the  world,  and  with  the  office  of  the  church,  as 
a  great  missionary  society,  to  answer  those  cries  ?  Are  we 
exciting  each  other  to  come  to  the  help  of  the  Lord ;  and 
aspiring  to  lead  the  van  of  the  Christian  enterprise  ?  Is  the 
influence  of  our  Christian  activity  made  to  be  felt  around  ? 
Are  other  churches  glorifying  God  in  us?  Has  the  world 
reason  to  bless  God  for  our  existence  ? 

But,  if  each  particular  church,  still  more  is  the^church 
universal  to  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  a  temple  devoted  to 
the  service  of  Christ.  Shall  the  Lord  of  the  temple  claim  its 
entire  consecration  in  person  ?  Why  may  we  not  suppose 
him  to  descend,  and  appear  in  the  midst  of  his  people,  to 
enforce  the  claim  ?  But  how  should  we  prepare  for  his 
reception?  and  what  will  he  expect  at  our  hands?  "Blow 
ye  the  trumpet ;  sanctify  a  fast ;  call  a  solemn  assembly." 
Every  Christian  of  every  denomination,  "  holding  the  head," 
should  be  summoned  —  for  the  occasion  equally  concerns  us 
all.  All  we  have  must  be  brought  into  his  presence  —  our 
children  must  be  sent  for,  our  property,  our  means  of  every 
description  —  whatever  can  be  employed  in  his  service. 
Nothing  must  be  forgotten  —  nothing  kept  back.  Thus 
prepared  for  his  arrival,  behold  him  come!  Mm  —  the  victim 
of  Calvary  —  the  Head  of  the  church  —  the  Savior  of  the 
world  —  clothed,  as  when  John  beheld  him,  in  priestly  attire ; 
and,  in  his  countenance,  majesty  blended  with  tenderness 
and  rebuke.  Looking  around  on  the  hushed  and  breathless 
assembly,  he  may  be  supposed  to  say,  in  accents  which  thrill 
through  every  soul,  "  Ye  are  not  your  own;  ye  are  bought 
with  a  price.  Your  bodies,  your  spirits,  your  children,  your 
property,  your  churches  —  all  these  are  mine.  For  this  cause, 
I  died  and  rose  again,  that  I  might  be  Lord  of  the  whole.  I 
come  to  claim  it.  If  you  can  name  any  faculty  of  your  nature 
which  I  have  not  ransomed ;  any  moment  of  your  time  which 
I  do  not  confer ;  any  thing  here  in  your  possession  which 
might  not  be  employed  in  my  service,  it  is  yours  to  use  at 
pleasure.  Recall  the  past ;  if  you  can  name  any  effort,  how- 
ever feeble,  made  in  harmony  with  my  will,  but  made  in  vain, 
with  such  efforts  I  dispense.  Survey  the  world!  If  you  can 
point  to  a  spot  where  the  destroyer  of  souls  is  not  working 


376  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE   CONSECRATION 

the  great  system  of  destruction,  that  spot  I  allow  you  to  pass 
by.  Call  for  your  race ;  let  them  pass  before  you  in  their 
nations  and  tribes ;  if  you  can  point  out  one  soul  which  is 
not  in  danger  of  perdition ;  one  which  my  blood  cannot 
cleanse ;  one  which  does  not  belong  to  me  —  him  I  allow 
you  to  neglect.  Hearken,  and  you  may  hear  the  loud  and 
piercing  cry  of  souls  perishing;  if  you  can  ever  listen  atten- 
tively without  hearing  it ;  if  you  can  discover  a  pause  in  that 
fearful  cry  even  for  a  moment,  during  that  moment  I  allow 
you  to  relax.  But  no,  it  is  incessant.  How  long  shall  it  con- 
tinue ?  Shall  not  India  have  a  cross?  Shall  not  Africa  have 
a  gospel  1  the  world  their  Savior  ?  True,  you  have  begun  to 
lift  the  cross  before  the  eyes  of  the  nations ;  and  wherever 
you  have  done  so,  angels  have  had  to  celebrate  its  triumphs. 
But  your  talents  unemployed,  your  resources  unexplored, 
your  opportunities  unimproved,  evince  how  small  the  sym- 
pathy you  have  hitherto  felt  with  it.  Lift  it  higher,  that  more 
may  see  it ;  and  higher  still,  that  all  the  ends  of  the  earth 
may  behold  it.  I  died  for  the  world.  Go,  and  proclaim  it 
to  every  creature.  The  resources  necessary  are  in  your  pos- 
session. I  see  them  around  me ;  and  I  accept  the  surrender. 
For  this  alone  have  I  waited.  All  things  now  are  ready. 
The  fulness  of  time  for  the  world's  recovery  has  at  length 
arrived.  Nothing  shall  now  delay  the  great  consummation. 
The  Sabbath  of  time  has  come  —  the  jubilee  of  the  world. 
I  hear  its  gathering  sounds  of  joy.  I  see  its  myriads  flock- 
ing—  all  flesh  coming  to  pray  before  the  Lord  —  my  right- 
eousness their  only  robe,  my  name  their  only  plea.  My  peo- 
ple, my  own,  my  blood-bought  church,  if  ye  know  the  grace 
of  your  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  if  his  love  can  move  your  hearts, 
if  his  glory  be  dear  in  your  eyes,  be  faithful  to  your  trust; 
unite  your  resources;  devote  your  energies;  live  for  me. 
God  himself  from  his  throne  shall  rejoice  over  you,  the  eter- 
nal Spirit  shall  give  efficacy  to  your  every  act ;  <ind  then, 
soon  shall  you  see  a  converted  world,  and  I  shall  see  of  the 
travail  of  my  soul  and  be  satisfied;  while  Earth  with  all 
her  tongues,  and  Heaven  with  all  her  harps,  shall  together 
roll  the  triumphant  song,  "  Alleluia,  the  Lord  God  omnipo- 
tent reigneth." 

But  this  is  the  identical  strain  in  which  our*  Lord  is  to  be 
regarded  as  constantly  addressing  us.  In  what  other  terms 
can  we  reply  but  by  saying,  Blessed  Savior,  we  are  here  before 
thee  ;  we  are  thine.     Do  with  us  as  seemeth  good  in  thy 


TO   THE    MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  377 

sight.  Only  forgive  the  past.  Breathe  on  us  thine  own  Holy 
Spirit.  Accept  now  our  entire  dedication  ;  and,  henceforth, 
by  thy  grace,  we  will  live  to  reclaim  the  world  which  thou 
hast  died  to  redeem. 

XII.  Only  let  these  sentiments  of  devotedness  be  imbod- 
ied  by  the  Christian  church,  and  the  honor  and  triumph  of 
the  gospel  will  be  complete.  And  never  till  then  will  even 
the  evidences  of  Christianity  be  complete.  The  logical  argu- 
ment for  its  truth,  indeed,  is  perfect ;  no  chain  of  reasoning 
can  be  more  entire.  But  were  its  miracles  to  be  all  repeated 
again,  and  its  prophecies  to  be  multiplied  a  hundred  fold, 
some  signal  display  of  the  power  and  excellence  of  its  motives 
would  still  be  wanting  as  the  practical  result  of  the  whole. 
That  signal  proof  is  simply  Christian  consistency  —  the  con- 
sistency of  a  devoted  church.  In  lieu  of  this,  the  world  will 
accept  nothing  —  not  even  the  most  convincing  arguments 
and  cogent  appeals;  "  give  us,"  they  say,  "  a  practical  proof 
that  you  yourselves  believe  and  are  in  earnest."  Christ  will 
accept  nothing  —  not  even  the  loudest  professions;  "if  ye 
love  me,"  saith  he,  "  keep  my  commandments  : "  we  our- 
selves can  accept  nothing  —  not  even  the  activity  of  the  mis- 
sionary enterprise  —  our  consciences  testify  against  us,  and 
say,  "  All  this  activity  is  far  less  than  you  can  do ;  and  you 
are  pledged  to  do  all  that  is  possible  for  the  recovery  of  the 
world.  But  where  is  your  self-denial  1  As  yet,  you  have 
given  only  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  your  table ;  where  is 
your  consecration  ?  At  present,  you  act  only  from  occasional 
impulse,  or  compunction,  or  the  lowest  degree  of  principle ; 
where  is  the  weight  of  your  character  ?  Not  merely  is  it 
wanting  —  well  would  it  be  if  this  were  all  —  but  it  is  against 
you ;  in  exact  proportion  as  it  is  absent  from  the  cause  of 
Christ,  it  is  present  to  assist  and  promote  the  cause  of  his 
foes  —  to  prolong  the  ruin  of  immortal  souls.  Until  this  evil 
be  remedied,  therefore,  expect  to  be  kept  low,  humbled,  and 
disgraced,  before  the  world  ;  to  be  strangers  to  every  thing 
like  pentecostal  visitations  from  on  high ;  to  be  fearful,  un- 
certain, and  unhappy  in  yourselves.  But  only  remedy  the 
evil  —  only  be  consistent  —  and  then  "  arise  and  shine,  for 
thy  light  will  have  come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  will  have 
arisen  upon  thee." 

What  could  stand  before  the  gospel  of  Christ,  were  all  the 
spirituality  of  its  doctrines,  the  holiness  of  its  precepts,  and 
32* 


378  MOTIVES    TO   ENTIRE    CONSECRATION 

the  earnest  and  compassionate  benevolence  of  its  aims,  imbod- 
ied  and  made  visible  in  the  living  character  of  its  disciples  1 
Who  could  doubt  the  reality  of  its  miracles,  when  the  church 
was  seen  standing  upon  them,  so  to  speak,  as  on  the  mount 
of  God,  herself  the  crowning  miracle  —  the  great  moral  mira- 
cle of  a  vast  community  living,  not  unto  themselves,  but  unto 
Him  that  died  for  them,  and  rose  again  ?  Who  could  ques- 
tion the  truth  of  prophecy,  when  the  fulfilment  of  a  thousand 
prophecies  was  realized  in  that  sublime  spectacle  itself;  when 
the  Church  herself  became  a  standing  prophecy ;  her  every 
act  a  presage  of  success;  her  every  conflict  a  prediction  of 
victory;  her  consecrated  character,  as  the  representative  of 
her  Lord's  character,  prophesying  to  the  world,  in  mute  but 
mighty  eloquence,  that  to  him  every  knee  must  bow  1  Who 
could  doubt  the  reality,  the  superiority,  the  divinity  of  the 
gospel,  when  it  had  thus  transferred  the  whole  might  of  its 
own  character  to  the  character  of  the  church  ?  We  ourselves 
could  not —  though  now,  as  the  necessary  result  of  our  super- 
ficial acquaintance  with  that  power,  we  often  do  —  but  then, 
in  the  largeness  of  its  views,  we  should  acquire  such  an  ex- 
pansion of  soul,  and  in  the  execution  of  its  lofty  purpose,  such 
a  sympathy  with  true  greatness,  as  would  make  the  weak  like 
David,  and  David  like  an  angel  of  the  Lord.  The  world 
around  us  could  not;  as  in  primitive  times,  "fear  would 
come  upon  every  soul; "  God  would  give  us  "  favor  with  all 
the  people,"  and  would  add  "  to  the  church  daily  such  as 
should  be  saved."  Nor  could  the  heathen  themselves ;  their 
great  argument  against  Christianity  would  be  gone;  the  main 
objection  with  which  our  comparative  apathy  arms  them, 
would,  by  the  very  change  of  our  conduct,  be  converted  into 
an  irresistible  plea  in  its  behalf. 

Who,  that  is  acquainted  with  history,  does  not  know  the 
powerful  influence  of  superior  character  1  The  world  has 
nothing  to  compare  with  it.  Laws,  armies,  revolutions,  are 
only  its  creatures,  or  visible  expressions.  What  deep  homage 
the  world  has  often  paid  to  it !  Royalty  has  trembled  before 
it,  till  throne  and  sceptre  shook.  A  nation,  in  the  crisis  of 
its  existence,  has  passed  by  the  palace,  and  gone  in  full  con- 
fidence of  aid  to  the  cottage  —  the  aid  of  character.  An 
army  in  its  peril  has  sued  to  it,  as  in  the  instance  of  Swartz, 
and  been  saved  by  it.  The  history  of  Christian  missions 
proves  that  whole  tribes  of  heathen  have  been  moved  and 
subdued  by  it,  even  when  years  of  preaching  had  apparently 


TO   THE    MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  379 

failed.  And  often  has  a  corrupt  church  owed  its  toleration 
and  continuance  to  the  profound  respect  which  the  world  felt 
for  the  character  of  a  few  of  its  members.  But  in  all  these 
instances,  be  it  remarked,  the  character  which  has  exercised 
the  greatest  influence  is  that  which  approached  nearest  to  a 
union  of  integrity  and  disinterestedness  —  in  other  words,  a 
character  formed  of  holy  benevolence.  Now,  what  is  this  but 
the  identical  character  which  the  gospel  concentrates  all  its 
power  to  produce  ?  What  was  the  character  of  Paul  but  this  1 
and  what  could  wealth,  rank,  the  world,  have  added  to  his 
influence  for  good?  His  disinterested,  self-denying  devoted- 
ness  to  the  service  of  Christ,  armed  him  with  a  power  which 
will  continue  to  be  felt  to  the  end  of  time,  and  which  will 
probably  be  felt  incomparably  more  then  than  now.  But  if 
the  character  of  a  single  Christian  can  exercise  such  a  sway, 
what  would  be  the  influence  of  a  society  of  such  men  ?  Not 
living  to  themselves;  not  meeting  for  purposes  of  gain,  but 
freely  sacrificing  it  all ;  not  prosecuting  the  Christian  cause 
slowly  and  timidly,  but  from  enlightened  conviction,  precipi- 
tating themselves  into  it ;  abandoning  themselves  to  it ;  show- 
ing themselves  ready  to  sacrifice  life  for  it !  And  if  the 
influence  of  a  single  society  of  such  men  would  be  great,  who 
can  calculate  the  results  which  would  ensue,  were  such  the 
character  of  the  entire  church?  Were  all  the  influences  of 
which  we  spoke  in  the  opening  chapter  —  the  influences 
arising  from  knowledge,  speech,  relationships,  property,  com- 
passion, self-denial,  perseverance,  union,  prayer  —  were  all 
these  developed  in  the  church  to  their  utmost,  and  placed 
under  holy  principle,  so  as  to  become  the  sacred  influence  of 
Christian  character,  what  a  halo  of  glory  would  be  shed  over 
the  whole  of  its  earthly  course  !  Wer  our  conscientiousness 
in  the  service  of  Christ  such,  that  we  welcomed  every  duty, 
however  trying ;  and  such  our  courage  in  his  cause,  that  we 
shrank  from  no  danger  ;  and  such  our  sympathy  with  the 
travail  of  his  soul,  that  our  toils  and  travail  for  the  same  object 
knew  no  limits  —  what  a  kind  of  emblazonment  would  be 
thrown  over  the  very  name  of  Christianity  !  If  we  had  simply 
acquired  the  character  of  not  living  to  ourselves ;  of  sincerely 
commiserating  the  miseries  of  the  world,  and  of  practically 
devoting  ourselves  to  their  removal  —  how  impossible  it  would 
be  to  pronounce  that  name,  without  calling  up  in  the  heart 
feelings  of  homage  and  love  !  The  character  of  the  church 
would  give  it  the  mastery  of  the  world,  and  invest  it  with 


380  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE   CONSECRATION 

glory  in  the  eyes  of  God ;  "  and  upon  all  the  glory  there 
should  be  a  defence." 

Now,  what  was  the  character  of  Christ  but  this?  And 
what  is  our  character  to  be  but  a  copy  of  his?  As  his  rep- 
resentatives, Christianity  is  to  possess  us,  to  live  over  again 
the  life  of  Christ  in  us  —  speaking  through  us,  breathing  in 
us,  acting  by  us.  And  it  is  this  identity  of  character  with 
the  character  of  Christ  which  is  to  invest  our  every  move- 
ment with  so  much  influence.  It  is  not  to  arise,  as  we  have 
intimated  already,  from  the  increase  of  property  and  resources 
which  such  a  self-denying  character  would  necessarily  place 
at  our  disposal  —  though  that  is  to  be  taken  into  the  account 
—  but  from  its  placing  our  character  in  harmony  with  per- 
fection. The  influence  of  Christ  himself  arises  from  his 
having  placed  himself,  in  an  infinitely  higher  sense,  indeed, 
in  perfect  harmony  with  the  will  and  character  of  the  Father. 
Sin  had  introduced  apparent  disorder  into  the  divine  govern- 
ment, arraying  law  against  law,  and  justice  against  mercy. 
Every  principle  of  that  government — every  law  in  the  uni- 
verse—  was  calling,  crying,  for  vindication  in  the  punish- 
ment of  man  ;  while  love,  in  apparent  opposition  to  them  all, 
was  calling  for  his  deliverance.  Christ  met  them  all  with  the 
cross ;  appeased  them  all,  harmonized  them  all,  and  set  them 
all  again  at  liberty.  His  cross  owes  its  influence  entirely  to 
the  fact  that  he  thus  placed  it,  as  the  means  of  atonement, 
in  harmony  with  all  the  great  laws  of  the  divine  government. 
By  abandoning  himself  entirely  to  these,  he  moved  the  uni- 
verse. All  moving  powers,  all  spiritual  influences,  the  Holy 
Spirit  himself,  has  thus  become  his. 

And  as  he  acquired  his  infinite  influence  in  the  mediato- 
rial government  by  placing  himself,  as  the  great  sacrifice  for 
sin,  entirely  at  the  divine  disposal,  and  by  identifying  himself 
with  the  cause  of  holiness  and  mercy,  the  subordinate  influence 
of  our  character  is  to  arise  entirely  from  our  identity  with 
his.  By  moving  only  in  a  line  with  him,  taking  law  from  no 
lips  but  his,  copying  no  example  but  his  life,  and  living 
instrumentally  for  no  end  but  that  for  which  he  efficaciously 
died,  our  character  would  be  in  effect  the  prolongation  of  his 
own,  and  our  influence  his  influence.  The  world  could  not 
doubt  our  identity  with  Christ ;  for  they  could  not  hear  us 
speak,  in  our  Christian  capacity,  but  they  would  hear  the 
compassionate  voice  of  Christ ;  nor  could  they  look  on  our 
conduct  without  being  reminded  of  his  example.     They  could 


TO   THE    MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  381 

not  doubt  of  the  power  of  Christian  principle ;  for  they  would 
see  that  it  secured  the  self-denying  energy  of  the  whole  man, 
the  whole  church.  They  could  not  question  the  distinctive- 
ness of  the  Christian  character ;  they  would  feel  that  the 
world  had  nothing  like  it ;  that  the  entire  church  was  an 
organization  as  distinct  from  every  other  society  as  if  it  had 
come  down  direct  from  heaven ;  and  yet  that  it  stood  apart 
from  the  world  and  above  it,  only  that  it  might  draw  them 
more  effectually  to  Christ.  They  could  not  doubt  our  belief 
of  their  danger,  or  the  depth  of  our  concern  for  their  deliver- 
ance, for  they  would  see  it  in  the  unremitting  earnestness  of 
our  efforts  to  save  them.  Nor  could  they  doubt  any  longer 
the  power  of  the  gospel  to  transform  the  world  ;  for  every 
day  would  bring  them  the  report  of  fresh  accessions  made  to 
the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Only  let  the  church  be  itself;  only 
let  it  become  the  devoted  agency  which  it  was  meant  to  be ; 
and  the  world  should  soon  be  given  into  its  hands.  Who 
could  see  it  move  in  its  missionary  path  without  being  ready 
to  precede  it  as  its  eager  herald,  shouting,  "  Prepare  ye  the 
way  of  the  Lord  "  ?  for  Christ  himself  would  be  with  it.  Who 
could  look  down  on  the  idolatrous  regions  which  lay  in  its 
route  without  summoning  them  to  surrender  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  and  feeling  the  certainty  of  their  speedy  subjection  to 
Christ  f  Who  could  look  into  the  roll  of  prophecy  without 
the  full  conviction  that  all  those  predictions  which  paint  the 
universality  and  glory  of  Messiah's  reign  had  reached  the  eve 
of  their  fulfilment  1  The  honor  and  triumph  of  the  gospel 
would  be  completed. 

XIII.  Our  regard  for  the  glory  of  God  requires  this  con- 
secration. This  motive  alone  should  be  sufficient  to  engage 
the  entire  church  in  one  unsparing  effort  for  the  world's  con- 
version. Darkness  still  covers  the  earth.  Satan  is  still  the 
god  of  this  world.  Idolatry  continues  to  defy  the  heavens. 
Alas !  what  a  debased  and  maddened  world  turns  round  to 
the  eye  of  God !  What  shouts  of  hostility  arise  from  it ! 
What  spectacles  of  shame,  what  enormities  of  guilt,  are  ex- 
hibited upon  it !  Now,  can  we  remember  whose  character  it 
is  which  is  most  insulted  by  this  fearful  state  of  things,  and 
whose  interest  it  is  which  is  most  wronged,  without  feeling 
"grieved  at  heart"?  Can  we  imagine  him  "looking  down 
from  heaven,"  as  of  old,  "  upon  the  children  of  men,  to  see 
if  there  are  any  that  understand  and  seek  after  him,"  and 


382  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE    CONSECRATION 

then  picture  to  our  minds  the  scenes  which  present  them- 
selves to  his  holy  eye  —  the  polytheism  and  practical  atheism, 
the  sottish  ignorance,  the  horrid  rites  and  ceremonies,  the 
depraved  passions,  unnatural  cruelties,  and  revolting  immo- 
ralities—  without  feeling  a  holy  zeal  for  God  kindling  within 
us?  Can  we  imagine  him  listening  to  the  sounds  at  this  mo- 
ment ascending  from  the  vast  regions  of  Asia,  and  think  of 
"  the  lords  many  and  gods  many"  whose  names  he  hears  in- 
voked, while  his  own  is  comparatively  unpronounced,  with- 
out feeling  even  an  anguish  of  concern  for  the  vindication 
of  his  righteous  claims?  Can  we  remember  that  the  Being 
who  is  thus  robbed  of  the  homage  of  his  creatures  is  "  God 
over  all  blessed  forever  "  ?  and  that  the  being  who  appropriates 
that  homage  is  the  enemy  of  God,  and  the  destroyer  of  souls, 
without  feeling  "  very  jealous  for  the  Lord  God  of  Israel "  ? 
Or  can  we  remember,  that  while  much  of  the  great  array  of 
evil  of  which  this  world  is  the  scene,  is  maintained  in  open 
defiance  of  his  reign,  as  if  he  were  the  Tyrant  instead  of  the 
God  of  the  universe,  many  of  the  prevailing  atrocities  are 
perpetrated  in  his  name,  and  as  acceptable  homage  to  his 
throne,  as  if  he  were  the  great  Patron  of  iniquity  —  can  we 
think  of  this  without  lifting  up  our  eyes  to  heaven,  as  Jesus 
did,  and  exclaiming,  "  O  righteous  Father,  the  world  hath 
not  known  thee  !  " 

But  might  they  not  have  known  him?  And,  if  so,  must 
not  the  guilt  of  their  ignorance,  at  present,  rest  on  those  who 
might  have  made  him  known  ?  And  can  we  remember  what 
it  is  that  we  have  to  make  known  concerning  him,  without 
feeling  that  every  moment  during  which  we  continue  to  with- 
hold the  gospel  from  the  nations  we  are  virtually  withholding 
from  God  his  highest  glory ;  that  we  are  concealing  from  them 
a  scheme  of  mercy  from  which  he  is  expecting  to  derive  his 
richest  revenue  of  praise  forever  ?  The  knowledge  of  the 
arts,  the  discoveries  of  science,  the  treasures  of  philosophy  — 
all  these  might  be  kept  from  them  with  comparative  impuni- 
ty ;  but  that  we  should  keep  back  from  them,  age  after  age, 
knowledge  so  important  that  prophets  have  been  sent  to  im- 
part it,  angels  have  been  the  bearers  of  it,  the  Spirit  himself 
has  uttered  it,  till,  in  these  last  day's,  God  has  actually  spoken 
to  us  by  his  Son  ;  knowledge  which  so  deeply  concerns  his 
own  character,  that  it  cannot  be  withheld  without  the  most 
fatal  results,  nor  imparted  without  reflecting  on  his  name 
eternal  glory,  —  this  should  surely  cover  us  with  shame  as  it 


TO   THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  383 

does  with  guilt.  What  if  no  news  had  come  from  heaven 
since  the  voice  of  inspiration  died  for  a  time  on  the  lips  of 
Malachi ;  what  if  no  voice  had  ever  cried  in  the  wilderness, 
"  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord;  "  and  no  intimation  been 
afforded  that  "  God  is  love  "  —  what  at  this  moment  would 
have  been  the  state  of  the  world  but  that  of  universal  gloom 
and  desolation  ?  its  only  light  streaming  from  the  fires  of 
demon  worship,  its  only  sounds  yells  of  defiance  against 
Heaven?  Yet  such,  in  effect,  is  the  lamentable  condition  in 
which  we  are  voluntarily  allowing  large  portions  of  the  earth 
to  lie.  As  if  God  had  never  spoken  to  us,  we  have  never 
spoken  to  them.  As  if  he  were  the  cruel  Moloch  they  sup- 
pose him  to  be,  we  have  never  told  them  the  glorious  fact 
that  He  is  love  —  that  he  hath  "  so  loved  the  world  as  to  give 
his  only-begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should 
not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  As  if  he  were  quite 
as  much  in  love  with  obscenity,  revenge,  and  blood,  as  they 
choose  to  believe  him,  we  have  not  chosen  to  warn  them  to 
the  contrary.  As  if  he  had  taken  no  steps  whatever  to  cor- 
rect the  fatal  error,  had  evinced  no  concern  at  the  stain  which 
thus  blots  out  his  glory  —  though  in  every  age,  and  through 
every  moment  of  the  time  that  he  has  been  suffering  the  foul 
and  enormous  wrong,  he  has  been  reminding  us  that  he  is 
filled  with  jealousy  for  his  name's  sake,  and  urging  us  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,  as  the  only  way  of  put- 
ting an  end  to  the  great  lie  which  is  every  where  told  and 
believed  against  him,  we  have  taken  no  steps  to  vindicate  his 
blessed  name.  And  the  consequence  is,  that  the  glory  of 
the  incorruptible  God  is  still  represented  by  the  most  degrad- 
ed and  loathsome  forms,  and  "  the  truth  of  God  is  changed 
into  a  lie."  And  yet  we  profess  to  feel  for  the  dishonor  put  on 
him  !  Where,  considering  our  means  —  where  is  our  con- 
sistency 1 

But  grievous  as  this  dishonor  is  when  considered  simply  by 
itself,  there  is  a  consideration  which,  in  the  eye  of  God,  ag- 
gravates it  without  measure  —  the  fact  that  it  should  be  in- 
flicted on  him  at  the  expense  of  his  only-begotten  and  well- 
beloved  Son.  To  have  kept  back  the  disclosures  concerning 
himself  made  by  his  mere  human  messengers,  would  have 
been  highly  dishonoring  to  God  ;  but  that  we  should  keep 
back  from  the  dark  world,  not  only  his  glory,  but  the  very 
"  brightness  of  his  glory ;  "  that  we  should  conceal  from  a 
world  filled  with  the  most  revolting  and  hideous  images  of 


384  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE   CONSECRATION. 

Deity,  "  the  Express  Image  of  his  person  "  —  this  is  to  put  a 
slight  on  the  character  and  work  of  Christ,  which  he  cannot 
away  with.  That  we  should  have  seen  the  cross  of  Christ,  and 
should  yet  have  allowed  the  world  to  go  on  offering  its  human 
and  other  sacrifices,  as  if  he  had  not  "  died  once  for  all ; " 
that  we  should  have  held  his  gospel  in  our  hands,  and  yet 
have  allowed  a  thousand  impostors  and  demons  to  publish 
their  Shastres  and  Korans  instead ;  that  we  should  "  know 
the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  grace  so  amazing  that 
it  is  ever  receiving  ineffable  expressions  of  the  Father's  com- 
placency, and  filling  all  heaven  with  praise,  and  yet  that  we 
should  account  it  hardly  worth  reporting  —  this  is  to  "  wound 
the  Father  through  the  Son ;  "  and  that  we  should  act  thus, 
knowing  as  we  do  know  how  the  heart  of  God  is  set  on  the 
glory  of  Christ,  the  height  to  which  he  has  exalted  him,  and  the 
promises  of  universal  dominion  and  homage  he  has  made  to 
him  —  this  is  not  merely  to  dishonor  Infinite  Majesty,  but, 
what  is  incomparably  worse,  to  inflict  a  wound  on  the  very 
heart  of  Infinite  Love. 

Or  can  we,  finally,  remember  what  is  to  be  the  end  of  the 
whole  mediatorial  economy  —  that  it  is  to  redound  "to  the 
praise  of  the  glory  of  his  grace"  —  without  feeling  that  to 
do  any  thing  less  than  the  utmost  in  our  power  to  hasten  the 
great  consummation,  is  to  publish  our  guilty  indifference  con- 
cerning it?  It  is  impossible,  even  now,  for  the  true  Christian 
to  hear  of  a  single  rebel  submitting  to  God,  and  being  brought 
back  into  harmony  with  the  holy  universe  without  rejoicing 
in  the  honor  which  it  brings  to  God.  The  very  angels 
rejoice  on  account  of  it,  in  the  presence  of  God.  They  see 
so  many  laws  harmonized  by  it,  so  many  claims  satisfied,  so 
much  glory  reflected  on  every  attribute  of  the  Triune  God, 
that  they  rehearse  for  the  last  great  chorus  of  the  universe. 
But  if  the  recovery  to  God  of  a  single  sinner  redounds  so 
greatly  to  his  praise,  what  will  be  the  glory  accruing  to  him 
from  a  recovered  world  ?  In  some  respects  he  will  be  hon- 
ored more  by  the  obedience  of  earth,  than  by  the  homage  of 
heaven.  There  his  glory  has  never  been  obscured ;  here  it 
has  suffered  a  long  and  dreadful  eclipse ;  when,  therefore,  it 
shall  again  irradiate  the  world,  well  may  the  unfallen  before 
the  throne  exclaim,  "  Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  Lord  God  of 
hosts ;  the  whole  earth  is  full  of  his  glory  !  "  When,  in  de- 
fiance of  the  machinations  of  the  prince  of  darkness,  and 
the  mighty  depravity  of  man,  the  empire  of  grace  shall  be 


TO   THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  385 

every  where  triumphant,  what  honors  will  be  recovered  to  the 
blessed  God  of  which  he  has  long  been  defrauded  !  When 
all  things  shall  be  sacred  to  his  name,  and  all  hearts  reflect- 
ing his  image,  what  expressions  of  his  purity  and  love  will 
be  poured  over  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea  !  How 
will  the  mountains  echo  it  to  the  valleys,  and  the  valleys  roll 
it  back  again  to  the  mountains,  that  even  here,  at  length,  "  the 
Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth  "  !  How  will  one  continent 
proclaim  it  to  another,  and  the  ocean  waft  it  to  the  main,  that 
"  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  have  become  the  kingdoms  of 
our  Lord  and  his  Christ !  "  And  when  it  shall  be  distinctly 
seen  that,  from  first  to  last,  the  recovery  of  the  world  was 
entirely  owing,  through  every  stage  and  every  step,  to  his 
boundless  grace,  what  ascriptions  of  honor  will  the  assembled 
and  admiring  universe  pour  forth,  like  the  sound  of  many 
waters,  to  God  and  to  the  Lamb ! 

Now,  is  it  possible  for  us  to  know  that  for  that  glory  he  is 
waiting ;  that  his  church  is  constituted  expressly  to  promote 
it ;  and  that  he  is  looking  to  every  member  of  that  church  to 
hasten  its  arrival,  without  feeling  ourselves  called  on  individ- 
ually to  put  forth  all  our  energies  for  its  speedy  consumma- 
tion 1  Can  any  object  in  the  universe  be  so  momentous  as 
the  vindication  of  the  divine  character,  and  the  completion  of 
the  divine  glory  1  All  other  interests,  compared  with  it,  are 
lighter  than  nothing,  and  vanity.  Compared  with  this,  nothing 
is  sacred,  great,  or  precious.  At  the  least  signal,  all  heaven 
would  rush  together  for  its  vindication;  every  holy  intelli- 
gence become  a  champion  in  its  behalf.  And  is  it  possible, 
that  though  the  vindication  of  his  glory  has  in  an  important 
sense  been  given  into  our  charge  —  and  though  all  the  world 
is  denying  his  existence,  aspersing  his  name,  or  usurping  his 
rights,  yet  on  turning  his  eyes  from  that  great  spectacle  of 
blasphemy,  to  see  what  his  church  is  doing  for  its  abatement, 
he  should  find  us  conniving  at  it,  and,  by  our  conduct,  con- 
firming, it?  Is  it  possible  that  the  least  stain  cast  upon  our 
own  name  should  arm  our  every  power  for  its  vindication, 
while  the  sight  of  hundreds  of  millions  trampling  his  honor 
in  the  dust,  and  laboring  in  mad  enmity  to  extinguish  the  last 
ray  of  his  glory,  should  yet  leave  us  calmly  to  give  nearly  all 
our  time  and  attention  to  "  what  we  shall  eat,  and  what  we 
shall  drink,  and  wherewithal  we  shall  be  clothed  "  ?  "  Father, 
forgive  us,  we  know  not  what  we  do." 

But  not  long  can  this  state  of  things  continue.  The  great 
S3 


386  MOTIVES   TO    ENTIRE   CONSECRATION 

cause  of  the  divine  glory  has  come  on  in  the  heathen  world 
Ages  have  elapsed  since  the  Christian  church  was  commis- 
sioned to  plead  that  cause  in  all  the  earth.  Still,  however, 
the  momentous  controversy  remains  undecided.  But  God 
is  giving  indubitable  signs  that  he  will  now  bring  it  to  an 
issue.  Every  minor  interest  must  stand  by.  The  theatre  of 
the  world  is  clearing  for  the  decision.  The  church  is  im- 
peratively summoned  to  appear  and  give  witness  for  God. 
To  us  he  is  saying,  as  he  did  to  the  members  of  his  ancient 
church,  "  Ye  are  my  witnesses,  that  I,  even  I,  am  God,  and 
besides  me  there  is  no  Savior."  Christians,  the  world  is 
waiting  to  receive  your  evidence.  "  By  the  mercies  of  God," 
will  you  not  go  and  testify  in  his  behalf?  Satan  is  witnessing 
against  him,  and  millions  are  crediting  the  revolting  testi- 
mony ;  will  you  not  hasten  or  send  to  testify  for  him  ?  Athe- 
ism and  Buddhism  are  denying  his  existence ;  and  China,  one 
third  of  the  human  race,  believe  it ;  will  you  not  go  and  pro- 
claim, "  This  is  the  true  God,  and  eternal  life  "  ?  His  ancient 
people  are  scattered  over  all  the  earth,  each  of  them  still 
with  a  veil  over  his  heart,  and  stained  with  the  blood  of  the 
Just  One  ;  will  you  not  beseech  them  to  "  look  upon  him 
whom  they  have  pierced,"  and  urge  on  them  his  claims  as 
their  own  Messiah  ?  Popery  is  concealing,  imprisoning, 
destroying  his  word  as  a  dangerous  book,  and  embracing  an 
image  or  an  amulet  instead ;  will  you  not  enable  and  urge 
its  votaries  to  "  search  the  Scriptures,"  to  consult  them  as 
the  "  oracles  of  God  "  ?  Mahometanism  is  denying  the  di- 
vinity of  his  Son,  and  honoring  an  impostor  in  his  stead ;  will 
you  not  attest  that  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given 
among  men,  whereby  we  can  be  saved,  but  the  name  of  his 
Son  our  Savior?  Hindooism  is  affirming  that  his  name  is 
Kalee,  and  that  he  has  given  one  half  of  the  human  race  to 
be  slaughtered  for  his  honor ;  that  it  is  Juggernaut,  and  that 
his  worshippers  must  be  covered  with  the  scars  of  self-torture, 
and  his  chariot  grind  its  way  through  a  path  strewn  with  their 
prostrate  bodies;  will  you  not  arouse,  will  you  not  impel 
others  to  join  you,  and  will  you  not  speed  to  tell  them  all  that 
"God  is  love"  ?  universal  and  infinite  love?  Shall  his  cause 
have  only  a  few  friends  to  espouse  it?  Shall  "the  church 
of  God,  which  he  hath  purchased  with  his  own  blood,"  find 
few  tongues  to  proclaim  that  that  "  blood  cleanseth  from  all 
sin  "  ? 

Followers  of  God,  his  cause,  your  cause,  the  cause  of  a 


TO   THE    MISSIONARY    ExNTERPRISE.  387 

deluded  and  dying  world,  is  before  you.  In  every  part  of  the 
world  he  has  obtained  for  you  a  hearing,  and  is  awaiting 
your  arrival.  At  this  moment  he  is  saying  to  his  church,  to 
every  individual  member,  to  the  Christian  reader  of  this 
book,  —  and  saying  it,  not  for  the  third,  but  the  thousandth 
time,  —  "  Lovest  thou  me  1 "  Then,  by  the  tender  and  melting 
considerations  which  led  you  at  first  to  surrender  yourself  to 
my  claims ;  by  the  weight  of  all  the  obligations  under  which 
my  grace  has  laid  you ;  if  there  be  any  thing  in  my  gift  of 
Christ  to  excite  your  love,  any  thing  in  his  blood  to  benefit 
the  world,  any  thing  in  my  glory  to  engage  your  concern, 
awake  to  your  high  prerogative  and  office,  call  down  the  aid  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  let  every  creature  hear  you  "  testify  that 
the  Father  sent  the  Son  to  be  the  Savior  of  the  world." 
Soon  should  "  my  name  be  great  among  the  heathen  ;  and  in 
every  place  incense  and  a  pure  offering  would  be  offered  on 
my  altar."  No  longer  should  my  character  be  defamed,  my 
government  impugned,  my  designs  impeached  and  opposed, 
nor  my  honors  usurped;  but  every  where  would  my  claims 
be  brought  forward  to  the  public  view,  and  every  where 
should  I  be  acknowledged  as  "  God  over  all,  blessed  forever." 
The  earth  should  be  "  filled  with  my  glory,  and  all  flesh  see 
it  together." 

XIV.  Then  such  a  consummation  of  the  divine  glory 
would  be  equally  the  completion  of  human  happiness.  In- 
deed, what  but  this  constitutes  the  happiness  of  heaven  ? 
Conceive  of  the  will  of  God  "  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in 
heaven,"  and  you  conceive  of  "  the  days  of  heaven  upon 
earth."  The  last  idol  would  have  been  cast  away ;  and  the 
last  rod  of  the  last  oppressor  broken.  Every  government 
would  but  execute  the  law  of  God,  and  every  subject  would 
but  obey  the  gospel.  The  activities  of  mind,  the  discoveries 
of  enterprise,  the  accumulations  of  wealth,  the  changes  of  em- 
pire, the  revolutions  of  time,  —  all  would  be  seen  laid  at  his 
feet,  and  falling  into  his  plan.  Every  habitation  would  be  a 
house  of  God ;  every  occupation  a  holy  exercise ;  every  day 
a  return  of  the  Sabbath ;  for  whatever  was  done  "  would  be 
done  to  the  glory  of  God."  Like  what  a  sea  of  glass  would  the 
universal  mind  of  man  become ;  every  where  pure  and  un- 
ruffled, and  reflecting  only  the  colors  of  the  rainbow  round 
about  the  throne  !  What  a  world  !  when,  compared  with  its 
all-pervading   peace,  and  loveliness,  and  light,  "  the   former 


388  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE   CONSECRATION 

heavens  and  the  former  earth  shall  not  be  remembered  nor 
come  into  mind." 

And  is  there  ground  to  conclude  that  this  sublime  result 
shall  be  realized]  "  The  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it." 
"  I  have  sworn  by  myself,  the  word  hath  gone  out  of  my 
mouth  in  righteousness,  and  shall  not  return,  that  unto  me 
every  knee  shall  bow,  and  every  tongue  shall  swear."  At 
what  precise  period,  or  to  what  exact  point  of  perfection  the 
result  may  be  realized,  we  cannot  say,  and  are  not  anxious 
to  know.  Sufficient  is  it  for  us  to  know  that  the  time  shall 
come  when  the  world  shall  be  seen  prostrate  before  God  in 
worship.  And  then  will  it  be  clearly  perceived  that  this 
has  been  brought  to  pass  as  the  result  of  all  that  God  has 
planned,  and  Christ  has  suffered,  and  the  Spirit  has  effected. 
The  very  mention  of  his  name  then  will  be  sufficient  to 
bring  the  world  into  a  posture  of  adoration.  They  will  come 
before  him  hungry  for  his  blessing,  languishing  for  his  Spirit, 
coveting,  craving  the  gifts  of  his  grace.  "  O  Thou  that 
hearest  prayer,  to  thee  shall  all  flesh  come !  "  They  shall  not 
be  satisfied  to  enjoy  thee  alone ;  they  shall  go  out,  and  with 
a  friendly  violence  compel  others  to  come  in,  and  share  thy 
favors  with  them.  "  It  shall  come  to  pass,  that  there  shall 
come  people  and  the  inhabitants  of  many  cities ;  and  the  in- 
habitants of  one  city  shall  go  to  another,  saying,  Let  us  go 
speedily  to  pray  before  the  Lord,  and  to  seek  the  Lord  of 
hosts ;  I  will  go  also.  Yea,  many  people  and  strong  nations 
shall  come  to  seek  the  Lord,  and  to  pray  before  the  Lord." 
Churches  shall  come  to  adore  him,  cities  to  consult  him, 
nations  to  surrender  to  him,  all  the  kindreds  of  the  earth  to 
fall  down  before  him.  They  shall  not  be  content  to  praise 
him  alone  ;  they  shall  feel  as  if  they  wanted  help  —  the  help 
of  the  world  —  to  raise  a  song  adequate  to  his  praise,  and  a 
prayer  equal  to  the  ardor  of  their  desires.  "  And  it  shall 
come  to  pass  that  from  one  new  moon  to  another,  and  from 
one  Sabbath  to  another,  shall  all  flesh  come  to  worship  before 
me,  saith  the  Lord." 

Then  man  will  have  found  his  only  proper  place;  will 
have  returned  to  the  only  spot  in  the  universe  which  becomes 
him  —  at  the  feet  of  God.  And,  having  found  his  proper 
place,  his  ultimate  end,  there  will  he  rest ;  going  out  of  him- 
self, and  losing  himself  in  God.  Then  God  will  have  recov- 
ered his  proper  glory;  every  idol  will  be  abolished,  every  rival 
power  cast  out,  the  eyes  of  all  will  wait  upon  him,  all  flesh 


TO   THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  389 

will  be  seen  staying  themselves  upon  him ;  he  will  be  seen  by 
the  universe  as  the  centre  of  a  lapsing  creation  —  the  support 
and  stay  of  a  sinking  world.  Then  the  design  of  the  whole 
gospel  constitution  will  be  completed  —  "  that  no  flesh  should 
glory  in  his  presence ;  "  every  thing  will  have  redounded  to 
the  glory  of  his  grace.  And  when  all  flesh  shall  thus  be  seen, 
in  effect,  prostrate  before  God  in  prayer,  what  will  it  be  but 
a  prelude  to  the  worship  of  heaven  ?  What  will  remain  but 
that  the  whole  should  be  transferred  to  the  employment  of 
praise  above !  Infinite  love,  ascending  the  throne,  and  put- 
ting on  the  crown,  shall  sit  down  and  enjoy  an  eternal  Sab- 
bath of  love!  while  the  myriads  of  the  redeemed  and  glori- 
fied, casting  their  crowns  before  him,  shall  ascribe  their 
happiness  to  him,  and  the  jubilee  of  eternity  shall  begin. 

And  is  such  to  be  the  end  of  the  missionary  enterprise? 
And  is  this  the  object  at  which  it  calls  us  to  aim  ?  Chris- 
tian, where  else  are  interests  like  these  at  stake  ?  Where 
else,  amidst  all  the  enterprises  of  time,  does  so  wide  a  field 
stretch  before  the  view,  or  such  momentous  consequences 
await  the  result?  To  overrate  such  an  object  is  impossible; 
to  stand  aloof  from  it,  or  even  to  regard  it  coldly,  is  enormous 
guilt.  What,  then,  is  the  amount  of  practical  interest  which 
you  are  taking  in  it  ?  Ask  yourself —  is  it  at  all  commen- 
surate with  its  mighty  claims? 

The  policy  of  statesmen,  and  the  projects  of  national 
ambition,  may  lay  wide  their  schemes  over  other  realms,  and 
subordinate  passing  events,  and  entail  the  fulfilment  of  their 
designs  on  their  successors  to  a  distant  posterity  ;  but  here 
is  a  scheme  so  vast  in  its  sweep,  as  to  subordinate  all  other 
plans  to  its  design ;  so  varied  in  its  workings,  as  to  demand 
the  strenuous  activity  of  every  agent  in  the  universe  ;  and 
yet  so  self-sufficient  as  absolutely  to  stand  in  need  of  none. 
Need  you  be  reminded  that  in  the  arrangements  of  that  plan 
a  post  of  activity  is  assigned  to  you ;  and  that  in  that  post 
the  whole  of  your  sanctified  influence  is  laid  under  tribute 
through  every  moment  of  life?  Great,  indeed,  is  your  guilt 
if  you  are  acting  on  any  independent  plans  of  your  own ;  if 
you  are  planning  for  any  thing  but  how  best  you  may  blend 
with  its  working,  and  aid  in  its  accomplishment. 

A  mere  worldly  philanthropy  may  boast  of  its  generous 
doings,  and  point  to  its  schools,  and  hospitals,  and  human- 
izing institutions  —  though  even  these  were  originated  indi- 
rectly by  the  influence  of  Christianity ;  but  here  is  a  cause 
33* 


390  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE   CONSECRATION 

which,  having  done  all  this,  would  yet  hardly  count  its  work 
begun  ;  which  scatters  these  minor  blessings  as  it  advances 
to  accomplish  a  good  infinitely  greater ;  which  can  point  to 
ignorance  sitting  at  the  feet  of  Christ,  hordes  of  the  wilder- 
ness converted  into  Christian  churches ;  the  worshippers  of 
demons  made  kings  and  priests  unto  God,  and  actually  min- 
gling in  the  adorations  of  the  temple  above.  But  how  much 
of  all  this,  and  what  particular  part  of  it,  were  you  the  means 
of  originating  or  effecting?  And  what  are  you  now  doing 
to  augment  these  happy  results?  What  source  of  tears  are 
you  now  laboring  to  dry  up  ?  What  particular  form  of  evil 
is  now  engaging  your  attention  and  filling  you  with  con- 
cern ?  What  object  engaging  your  special  and  earnest 
supplication  ? 

Science  may  talk  of  the  future,  may  promise  largely,  and 
be  sanguine  of  its  useful  results ;  but  here  is  a  cause  which 
makes  all  the  wants  and  woes  of  the  world  its  own,  and  will 
never  count  its  work  complete  till  they  have  all  been  removed 
and  forgotten.  On  this  cause,  all  the  treasures  of  the  uni- 
verse have  been  lavished,  all  creation  is  groaning  and  travail- 
ing in  pain  together  for  want  of  it,  and  all  the  voices  of  heaven 
and  earth  are  urging  you  to  take  part  in  it.  What  are  you 
doing  for  its  promotion  ?  Is  the  utmost  extent  of  your  instru- 
mentality in  its  behalf  a  small  donation  in  money,  and  occa- 
sionally a  languid  prayer  ? 

History  may  record  her  eventful  eras,  when  all  the  powers 
of  earth  were  drawn  up  in  hostile  array,  and  all  its  interests 
suspended  on  a  single  conflict.  Such  may  be  regarded  to 
have  been  the  case  when  the  great  question  was  to  be  decided 
by  a  single  blow  between  Greece  and  Persia,  whether  freedom 
or  slavery  should  be  the  future  inheritance  of  mankind  ;  when 
the  victory  of  Constantine  determined  whether  paganism  or 
Christianity  should  hold  the  throne  of  the  Roman  empire ; 
when,  on  the  plain  of  Tours,  it  was  decided  whether  the 
Crescent  should  prevail  over  the  Cross  in  the  west  as  it  had 
in  the  east — whether  Imposture  should  drive  the  Truth  from 
the  earth ;  and  when,  on  the  event  of  the  Armada,  it  was  to 
be  decided  whether  Popery  or  Protestantism  should  prevail, 
whether  the  earth  should  belong  to  Christ  or  to  Antichrist. 
But,  here,  all  that  is  left  of  these  ancient  elements  of  conflict 
is  marshalled  anew  ;  every  thing  depraved  and  malignant  is 
here  found  in  conflict  with  every  thing  benevolent  and  holy, 
and  the   issue  is  to  involve  the    final    destiny  of  immortal 


TO   THE    MISSIONARY    ENTERPRISE.  391 

myriads.  Are  you  conscious  of  having  caught  the  spirit  of 
the  contest  ?  of  feeling  how  much  may  depend,  under  God, 
on  your  single  arm  ?  and  are  you,  accordingly,  to  be  found  at 
your  post,  and  acquitting  yourself  as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus 
Christ? 

Eventful  times  and  great  enterprises  may  have  produced 
extraordinary  men  ;  men  whose  memory  biography  may  have 
embalmed  ;  whose  honors  heraldry  may  have  emblazoned ; 
whose  likeness,  art  and  genius  may  have  taxed  their  powers 
to  multiply  ;  whose  fame  is  accounted  so  precious,  that  nations 
may  have  charged  themselves  with  the  office  of  guarding  it  ; 
and  the  youth  of  each  succeeding  generation  may  be  taken 
to  their  tomb  as  to  a  shrine,  and  be  taught  to  regard  them  as 
filling  the  place  of  a  glorious  ancestry,  urging  them  by  their 
example  to  an  emulation  of  their  noble  deeds.  But  here  is  a 
cause  which  has  ever  been  producing  men  "  of  whom  the 
world  was  not  worthy ;  "  men  "  whose  names  are  in  the  book 
of  life ;  "  men  "  whose  praise  is  in  all  the  churches,"  kin- 
dling holy  enthusiasm,  and  who,  by  their  influence,  are  repro- 
ducing themselves  in  the  useful  lives  of  others;  men  who, 
"  though  dead,  are  yet  speaking,"  speaking  together,  and 
saying,  "  Be  ye  followers  of  us,  as  we  followed  Christ."  Are 
you  heeding  the  exhortation  ?  Might  it  be  fairly  inferred  from 
any  thing  visible  in  your  conduct  that  you  are  living  for  the 
great  object  for  which  many  of  them  cheerfully  died  1  that 
you  sympathize  with  them  in  the  intensity  of  their  concern 
for  the  salvation  of  the  world  ?  Philosophy  may  boast  of  her 
martyrs,  and  tell  her  disciples  what  severity  of  discipline,  and 
what  untiring  patience  and  perseverance,  the  prosecution  of 
her  claims  and  projects  require ;  but  here  is  an  object  which 
demanded  the  actual  sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  which 
is  ever  demanding  the  unrelaxing  and  unqualified  devotedness 
of  all  his  followers  in  all  succeeding  times.  What  sacrifices 
are  you  making  in  its  behalf?  and  in  what  do  those  sacrifices 
consist?  Here  is  an  object  which  brings  you  into  contact 
with  more  than  prophets  and  apostles,  and  which  requires 
you  to  imitate  a  higher  example  than  that  even  of  confessors 
and  martyrs.  By  summoning  you  "  to  the  help  of  the  Lord," 
it  calls  you  to  act  at  his  side,  places  you  under  the  notice  of 
his  eye,  and  requires  you  to  "  follow  his  steps."  Have  you 
ever  been  seized  with  the  hallowed  ambition  of  copying  his 
example  ?     Are  you  aspiring  to  win  from  his  lips  the  "  Well 


392  MOTIVES   TO   ENTIRE    CONSECRATION 

done,  good  and  faithful   servant,"  which  awaits  each  of  his 
devoted  followers,  on  their  arrival  in  his  presence  above? 

Others  may  boast  of  comprehensive  designs,  and  talk  of 
final  causes ;  but  here  is  the  final  cause  itself —  an  end  so 
great,  that  all  other  ends  stand  to  it  only  in  the  relation  of 
means  —  so  lofty,  that  there  is  nothing  higher  —  so  glorious, 
that  every  thing  in  the  universe  is  honored  by  serving  it. 
The  one  point,  the  sole  end,  to  which  every  thing  in  the 
government  of  God  is  tending,  is,  "  to  the  praise  of  the  glory 
of  his  grace ;  "  and  to  this  point  it  is  tending  with  the  direct- 
ness and  force  of  a  univeral  law.  Every  mite  given,  every 
Bible  distributed,  every  missionary  sent  forth,  every  church 
planted,  falls  in  with  that  stream  of  events,  and  forms  a  part 
of  that  vast  combination  of  means,  by  which  God  is  reducing 
and  restoring  all  things  unto  himself.  Even  now,  the  agen- 
cies of  Providence  are  urged  into  unusual  activity —  all  things 
are  rushing  to  that  final  issue.  Delay  to  join  in  the  march 
of  mercy,  and  you  will  lose  opportunities  of  honoring  God, 
and  of  serving  your  race,  such  as  never  occurred  to  the 
church  before,  and  can  never  be  enjoyed  by  you  again.  Be 
indolent,  covetous,  self-indulgent  now,  and  the  very  stones 
will  cry  out.  Continue  to  live  for  yourself,  and  the  universe 
will  upbraid  you  —  the  perishing  will  point  at  and  reproach 
you  as  accessory  to  their  destruction  —  the  Judge  himself 
will  say,  "  I  n>ever  knew  you."  On  the  contrary,  be  faithful 
now,  and  the  very  trees  of  the  field  will  clap  their  hands : 
live  unto  the  Lord,  and  all  things  shall  live  for  you,  and  be 
ready  to  serve  you  in  his  cause  ;  be  entirely  devoted  to  his 
claims,  and  others  shall  be  moved  by  your  example,  and  the 
world  blessed  by  your  influence,  and  Christ  himself  shall 
rejoice  over  you.  Less  than  entire  consecration  has  been 
tried  for  ages ;  and  the  fatal  result  is  to  be  seen  in  the  thou- 
sands perpetually  passing  —  passing  at  this  moment  —  to  the 
bar  of  God  from  regions  where  the  sound  of  salvation  has 
never  been  heard.  If  you  sympathize  with  Christ,  then,  in 
the  travail  of  his  soul,  you  will  from  this  time  see  what  entire 
devotedness  can  do  for  their  recovery.  Moved  by  his  exam- 
ple, you  will  look  through  your  tears  on  a  world  perishing  in 
its  guilt ;  and  you  will  feel  that  you  are  never  imitating  him 
so  much  as  by  self-denying,  painstaking  endeavors  for  its 
salvation.  Subdued  by  the  tenderness  of  his  claims,  you  will 
freely  acknowledge  that  you  are  not  your  own  ;  that  the  same 


TO   THE   MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  393 

reasons  which  bind  you  to  do  any  thing  for  Christ,  bind  you 
to  do  every  thing  in  your  power,  and  to  do  it  in  the  best  pos- 
sible manner ;  that  you  are  bought  with  a  price  which  might 
well  purchase  the  entire  dedication  of  a  whole  universe  of 
intelligent  beings  to  all  eternity.  Affected  and  engrossed  by 
the  magnitude  of  his  cause  —  the  cause  of  the  world's  recov- 
ery—  you  will  feel  that  to  throw  less  than  all  your  energies 
into  its  promotion  is  an  insult  to  all  the  momentous  interests 
which  it  involves.  Not  only,  therefore,  will  you  task  your 
own  powers  in  its  behalf — you  will  task  them  partly  in  an 
earnest  endeavor  to  move  heaven  and  earth  to  join  you.  In 
a  word,  constrained  by  his  love,  you  will  "  thus  judge  "  —  and 
never  can  you  be  said  to  be  moved  by  his  love  except  as  you 
are  thus  judging,  and  laboriously  acting  on  the  judgment  — 
"  that  if  one  died  for  all,  then  were  all  dead ;  and  that  he 
died  for  all,  that  they  who  live  should  not  henceforth  live 
unto  themselves,  but  unto  him  who  died  for  them  and  rose 
again."  Hasten,  then,  into  his  presence,  fall  down  at  his 
feet,  and  surrender  yourself,  and  every  thing  you  have,  to  his 
service.  He  will  graciously  accept  the  dedication ;  and  ten 
thousand  ages  hence  you  will  be  still  praising  him  that  you 
did  so;  and  an  unknown  number  will  join  in  blessing  him 
on  your  account. 


INDEX 


PAGE. 

Abraham,  holy  agency  of 76 

Activity,  a  means  of  usefulness 71 

Christian,  final  success  of . .  .265,  366 
Agency,  Christian,  divine  origin  of. . .  .82 

true  character  of 37 

America,  aborigines  of 250 

American  Baptist  Board  of  Missions, 

origin  of 158 

Board  of  For.  Missions,  origin  of.  158 

Angels,  agency  of 1H9 

holy  activity  of. 102 

interest  of,  in  Christ's  mediation.  101 
sympathy  of,"in  man's  salvation.  .102 

Antioch,  conduct  of  church  at 93 

Apostles,  conduct  of,  in  the  diffusion 

of  the  gospel 91 

manner  in  which  they  understood 

prophecy 135 

qualified  and  authorized  to  diffuse 

the  gospel 79 

travels  of 95 

Apostolic  epistles,  illustrative  of  the 

spirit  of  missions 97 

Arts,  promoted  by  missionary  efforts.. 169 

Asiatic  churches,  injunctions  to J."»ll 

Association,  principle  of  moral 49 

Baptist  .Missionary  Society,  origin  of.  .156 

Basle,  missionary  seminary  at 157 

Biography,  right  influence  of,  on  Chris- 
tians  390 

Boyle,  Hon.  R.,  Christian  zeal  of 155 

Britain,  extensive  influence  of 234 

political  state  of. 359 

temporal  benefits  of,  from  gospel..  166 
British  churches,  influence  of  missions 

on 200 

Britons  abroad,  influence  missions  on. 218 

Central  Africa,  present  state  of. 250 

Character,  Christian,  elevated  by  mis- 
sions   208 

weight  of 378 

China,  present  state  of 284 

Christ,  anticipation  of  his  glory 50 

character  of 380 

devotedness    of,    to  his    engage- 
ments  79,  109 

influence  of  his  advent  on  man  . .  .45 

intercessory  prayer  of. 137 

irresistible  claims  of,  on  the  de- 
votedness of  his  people 110 

jealousy    of,     in    addressing    his 

church 147 

kingdom  of,  gradually  set  up 137 

mediatorial  right  of 3o7 

pity  of,  for  the  lost  world 136 

promise  of  his  presence 139 

satisfaction  of,  in  his  conquest  of 

the  world 143 

Christian,   closeness  of  liis  identity 

with  Christ 85 

fitness  of,  for  usefulness 58 


PAGE. 

Christian,  motives  for  his  activity....  144 

object  of  Christ  in  redeeming 373 

prayer  of,  for  the  world 86 

Christians,  expectations  of  Christ  from.81 
past  conduct  of,  to  be  retrieved. .  .353 

present  responsibility  of 112 

their  means  of  usefulness SI 

union  of,  for  the  diffusion  of  the 

gospel 87 

Christendom,  the  divisions  of 251 

Christianity,  influence  of,  on  individ- 
ual man r?2 

means  of  its  early  extension 151 

temporal  benefits  afforded  by 163 

tendency  of,  to  form  society 59 

Christian  influence,  prominence  of,  in 

the  New  Testament 83 

instrumentality,  theory  of. SB 

labor,  impossibility  of  Ming  lost.  .:ie>."> 
Church  Missionary   Society,  origin  of.  156 
the  completion  of  its  triumphs . .  .377 
decline    of    its   devotedness   and 

prosperity 149 

divine   displeasure   with  the   su- 

pineness  of. 386 

duty  of  individual  members  of.  ...387 

increase  of  its  influence 106 

influence  of  unity  in 63 

missionary  constitution  of it  I  :i 

present  transition  state  of 3G2 

prosperity,  arising  from  activity..  148 

separation  of,  from  the  world 60 

usefulness  of. 61 

views  of,  enlarged  by  missions. .  .203 

Churches,  the  reformed 252 

Civilization,  how  produced  by  Chris- 
tianity  '. 169 

Clean   water,  how  sprinkled  on   the 

church 133 

Colonization,  peculiar  to  Christianity .242 
Coming  of  Christ,  scriptural  import  of 

the  phrase 118 

Commerce,  promoted  by  missions 197 

Compassion,  a  mean  of  usefulness. . .  .71 
Consecration,   Christian,    importance 

of 308,343 

required  by  Jehovah 381 

Consistency,  Christian,  influence  of.  .377 

Conversion,  triumphs  of 188 

Covenant,  new,  character  of. 131 

Creation,  anticipation  of  the  deliver- 
ance of  50 

Cross  of  Christ,  influence  of. 51,  139 

David,  tabernacle  of,  its  reference  to 

the  church 131 

Dependence  and  influence,  universal 

law  of 37 

Devotedness,  Christian,  examples  of.  .361 

importance  of 357 

Disunion  among  Christians,  evils  of.  .304 
Dry  bones,  valley  of 130 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 

Edinburgh  Missionary  Society,  origin 

of. 156 

Education, promoted  by  missions.  170, 186 
Emulation,    Christian,    promoted    by 

missions 202 

Era,  present,  the  commencement  of  a 

new 364 

European  character,  raised  by   mis- 
sions   196 

Evil,  moral  influence  of  introduction 

of 42 

France,  naturalism  of 252 

French  Protestant  Missionary  Society, 

origin  of 158 

Future,  disclosures  of  the,  made  to  the 

church. 104 

General   Baptist  Missionary   Society, 

origin  of 158 

Gentiles,  why  first  preached  to  by  the 

apostles 135 

German  Missionary  Society,  origin  of.  15S 

Germany,  rationalism  of 251 

Glasgow  Missionary  Society,  origin  of.  157 
God,  character  of,  pledged  for  the  suc- 
cess of  the  gospel 120 

eminently  glorified  by  missions..  .219 
promises  of,  as  to  the  success  of 

his  word 120 

Gospel,  adaptation  of,  to  the  mind 53 

influence  of  its  success 119 

perpetuity  of  the  preaching  of. . .  .136 
power  of,  illustrated  by  missions.  .215 

published  by  an  angel 139 

result  of  its  publication 378 

withholding  of,  dishonor  done  to 

Christ 383 

Greek  church,  present  state  of 251 

Happiness,  human,  completion  of..... 387 
Harvest,  influence  of  Christians  on  the 

moral, 86 

of  the    world,    how    reaped    by 

Christians 137 

Heathen,    awfully    dangerous    state 

of. 275,357 

not  to  be  neglected  on  account  of 

the  state  of  home 288 

readiness  of,  to  receive  the  gospel. 360 
Heaven,  how  fullv  prepared  for  the  re- 
deemed . . . ." 102 

the  heathen  prepared  for  by  mis- 
sions   190 

History,  encouragement  given  by,  to 

Christian  agency 230 

eventful  eras  of. 390 

Holy  Spirit,  agency  of,  in  the  church.. 82 
given  for  the  diffusion  of  the  gos- 
pel  88 

glory  of  his  dispensation 123 

influence  of,  on  man 46 

influence  of,  essential  to  useful- 
ness   64 

promise  of  his  influence 82 

promise  of,  in  connection  with  in- 
junctions to  duty  119 

work  of,  to  glorify  Christ 83 

Hope,  influence  of,  on  Christian  activ- 
ity  117 

Horsley,  bishop,  quoted  on  the  rule  of 

prophecy 119 


PAGE. 

Humanity  promoted  by  Christian  mis- 
sions — 171 

Humility,  Christian,  vast  importance 

of 310 

Idolatry  abolished  by  missions 182 

Impending  judgments,  usefulness  of.  .133 

India,  early  missions  in 153 

present  state  of 244,  260 

Infidelity,  lessened  by  missions 212 

Influence,  moral  power  of. 39 

Christian,   constantly  accumulat- 
ing  105 

mighty  power  of. 230 

prominence  of,  in  the  New 

Testament 83 

moral,  stimulated  by  sin 45 

Instrumentality,  Christian,  theory  of... 52 
holy,  employed  by  the  patriarchs ..  75 

Jehovah,  love  of,  to  his  church 79 

Jerusalem,  conduct  of  the  church  at. .  .93 
Jewish  economy,  adaptation  of,  to  bless 

the  world 77 

church,  a  type  of  the  Christian. . .  .78 

influence  of. 105 

separation  of,  from  the  world.  .78 

Jews,  awakening  among 252 

conversion  of,  by  the  gospel 129 

society  for  the  conversion  of,  ori- 
gin of 157 

Johnson,  Dr.  S.,  extract  from 105 

Judgments,   great,  overruled  for    the 

salvation  of  the  world 126 

Kingdom,  establishment  of  the  holy.. 141 

of  Christ,  certain  progress  of 134 

gradually  set  up 137 

Knowledge,  a  means  of  usefulness 65 

Laws,    institution    of,    promoted     by 

Christian  missions 171 

Laymen,  necessity  of  the  missionary 

agency  of 330 

Liberality,  necessity  of  increased  pe- 
cuniary   325 

Literature,  promoted  by  missions 191 

London  Missionary  Society,  origin  of, .  156 

Man,  dependence  of,  on  others 38 

knowledge  of,  promoted  by  mis- 
sions  195 

Mediation  effected  by  missionaries....  174 
Millenarianism,  opposition  of,  to  Scrip- 
ture  118,  124 

Millenarians,  mistakes  of. 116 

objections  of,  to  missions,  refuted. 296 
Millennium,  Christian  expectation  of..  115 
Ministers,  necessity  of  their  increased 

attention  to  missions 321 

Missionaries,  earliest,  sent  from  Brit- 
ain  152 

Missionary  activity,  origin  and  history 

of. 150 

efforts,  success  equal  to 222,  261 

enterprise,  summary  of 161 

temporal  benefits  of. 162 

information,    importance    of    the 

diffusion  of. 315 

societies,  tabular  statement  of. . .  .161 

influence  of  their  origin 157 

spirit,  existence  of,  in  early  ages.  .151 
existence  and  progress  of,  in 
the  churches 254 


396 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 

Missions,  benefits  of,  beyond  calcula- 
tion   179 

Christian,  history  of. ... , 148 

church  constituted  for 267 

conviction  of  the  church  as  to  its 

duty  towards 216 

evidence  furnished  by,  of  the  truth 

of  Christianity 213 

importance  of  the  due  appreciation 

of 311 

influence  of,  on  the  increase  of 

the  Romish  church 150 

influence  of  science  on 258 

motives  to  engage  in 348 

necessity  of,  to  precede  civiliza- 
tion  279 

not  impracticable 276 

objections  to,  answered xiT-J 

obligations  not  lessened  by  want 

of  funds  or  union 293 

peculiar  advantages  derived  from. 228 

Protestant  origin  of. 151 

providential  facilities  for 258 

Morality  promoted  by  missions. .  .172,  182 

Moravian  missions,  origin  of. 155 

Mosaic  dispensation,  agency  of. 76 

Nations,  existence    of,  preserved    by 

missions 173 

Native  agency,  success  of. 231 

Netherlands  Miss.  Society,  origin  of.  .158 

New  creation,  the 142 

New  England,  Christianity  planted  in.  154 
Opposition  to  the  gospel,  destruction  of.  141 

Parental  influence,  corruption  of. 43 

Paul,  conduct  of,  in  reference  to  the 

gospel 91 

self-denial  of 92 

Peace,  promoted  by  missions 188 

Persevering  activity,  a  means  of  use- 
fulness  71 

Philanthropy,  worldly,  inefficiency  of.389 
Piety,  importance  of  an  increase  of. .  .316 

Prayer,  a  means  of  usefulness 73 

increase  of,  for  missions 263,  270 

need  of  a  larger  increase  of 335 

spirit  of,  prompted  by  missions.. .263 
Freaching,  importance  of,  in  the  con- 
version of  the  world 135 

Property,  a  means  of  usefulness 69 

consecrated  by  Christians  to  mis- 
sions   206 

Prophecy,  favorable  influence  of,  on 

missions 265 

influence  of,  on  the  church 115 

wise  reserve  of 121 

Providence,  dispensations  of,  favorable 

to  missions 357 

Redemption,  claim  of 370 

harmony  of,  with  the  divine  mind. 48 

its  divine  origin 47 

Relationship,  a  means  of  usefulness... 66 

Religion,  cause  of,  but  one 203 

Remedy  for  selfishness,  how  provided.. 47 


FAGE. 

Renovation  of  the  world,  an  object  of 

ancient  expectation 136 

Responsibility,  extent  of  moral 42 

Rhenish  Missionary  Society,  origin  of.  157 

Roman  greatness,  its  character 105 

Romish  church,  influence  of  missions 

on  the  increase  of. 150 

present  state  of. 251 

Russia,  early  establishment  of  Chris- 
tianity in 153 

Sabbath,  observance  of,  promoted  by 

missions 189 

Satan,  conquest  of,  over  man 42 

subdued  by  Messiah 46 

Schlegel,  extract  from 105 

Science,  inefficiency  of. 390 

promoted  by  missions 191 

Self-denial,  a  means  of  usefulness 70 

Self-examination,  importance  of. 303 

.Selfishness,  its  origin 43 

remedy  for 46 

Shipping  interest,  promoted  by  mis- 
sions  198 

Slavery,  destroyed  bv  missions.... 176,180 

Smith,  Dr.  J.  P.,  extract  from 114 

Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowl- 
edge, origin  of. 155 

for  Propagating  Christian  Knowl- 
edge, origin  of. 155 

for  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,. . . .  155 

Speech,  a  means  of  usefulness 65 

Stone,  progress  of  the  living 141) 

Swartz,  character  of 196 

Swiss,  the,   <>ri«inators  of  Protestant 

missions 154 

Tapu,  abolished  by  missions 177 

Temple,  erection  of  holy 141 

the  ancient,  type  of  the  Christian 

and  the  church 375 

Truth,  evils  of  partial  views  of. 299 

moral  influence  of. 49 

Union,  a  means  of  usefulness 73 

Christian,  importance  of 322 

Christian,  promoted  by  missions.. 205 
Universe,  dei>endence  and  influence, 

the  law  of. 37 

Western  Africa,  mission  of  Friends  to.  158 

Wisdom,  holy  increase  of. 318 

Woman,  rank  of,  elevated  by  missions.  178 

Work  of  Christ,  relation  of,  to  man 45 

World,  entire  conquest  of 392 

effect  produced  by  surveying  it. .  .376 
moral  aspect  of,  favorable  to  mis- 
sions  256,269 

moral  state  of. 381 ,  385 

pernicious  influence  of,  on  man.. .  .55 
political  state  of,  favorable  to  mis- 
sions   240 

present  awful  state  of 354,  357 

result  of  the  conversion  of. 383 

Young  men,  appeal  to 367 

Zeal,  Christian,  necessity  for  an  in- 
crease of. 333 


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